PotC: The Curse of the Black Pearl
by FantasyBard
Summary: Will's twin, Marie comes along to help rescue Elizabeth and sparks fly between her and Jack. And James finds himself torn between Elizabeth and her sister, Emma. Willabeth, Jack/OC, James/OC
1. Chapter 1: Fog Bound

**Hello, FantasyBard here. Going back over my Pirates trilogy, I saw that there was a lot of grammar mistakes that I would have liked to fix, but never had the time. Now that it's summer, I was going to make this a little project of mine. Plus, if anyone wants to reread the story, that's perfectly all right with me. I hope that this makes the story a little easier to read. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean. I do not own in now, nor will I ever own it. I am making this for my own pleasure, and am gaining no sort of monetary gain from it.

Rates T for scenes of Sensuality/innuendo and action violence.

Prologue: Fog Bound

The fog hung over the Atlantic Ocean like a thick white blanket. The shroud of white seemed to be a solid mass, though it was as thin as air. Through the tendrils of fog, the mighty prow of the _H.M.S. Dauntless_, rode the waves. Water lapped at its bows as it passed smoothly through the water. It was very eerie to be trapped in this fog, because you had no idea what lay beyond that wall, and what might happen with each passing moment: it might be smooth sailing or it might be rocks that would scuttle the ship and force the crew to take desperate measures. What made it worse was that the fog seemed somehow, unnatural. The day had started clear and sunny. The fog had come up suddenly, with no warning whatsoever. It caused the more superstitious of the sailors to shudder and say a quick prayer to the fates against evil.

A sound suddenly sliced through the ominous silence. It was the sound of voice, the voice of a young child singing.

"We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Drink up me hearties, yo ho"

At the front of the ship, a young girl sang into the fog. She was twelve years old, a little young to be singing such a violent song, but this young girl was no ordinary young girl. She continued to sing, her mind totally absorbed in her fantasies. She didn't notice the figure that was creeping up behind her, noiseless and threatening.

"We extort, we pilfer, we filch, we sack, drink me hearties, yo ho-"

She gaped in fright as a hand clapped onto her shoulder. She whirled around and was confronted with the sight of a grizzled sailor. "Quiet, missy." He said in a gravelly voice that was harsh with warning, "Cursed pirates sail these waters." He looked at the fog around them, as though expecting to see a pirate ship appearing out of the mist at any moment. He turned his eye back on her and shook her slightly, as though trying to drive his point home. "You don't wanna bring 'em down on us now, do ya?"

The cold sound of a military voice interrupted his next words, "Mr. Gibbs that will do."

Elizabeth Swann, (for that was the name of the girl who had been singing) looked past Joshamee Gibbs to see three people standing a little way from them. One was a tall and good looking man of about twenty-one, wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant. It was he who had spoken, and it was obvious just by seeing and hearing him that here was a man who was used to having his orders obeyed. A little ways back from him was a man who looked to be in his mid-forties. His face was kind and gentile, though perhaps indicating that he could be befuddled very easily. The third person of the party hitherto described was another girl, of about fifteen. If girl was even the right word, for she seemed very grown up for her age. One might have said, from a just a cursory glance that she was rather uninteresting, even plain. Her hair was a shade of blonde that was neither particualarly lusterous nor golden. Her body was not slender, nor was it plump. Her eyes were a soft grey color and they too held a quiet intelligence and strength that added to the image of a maturity. In short Emma Swan was no more ugly than beautiful, she was just ordinary. One was probably also able to tell that she didn't really mind that at all.

Gibbs turned around and tried to defend his actions. "She was singin' 'bout pirates. Bad luck to be singin' about pirates with us mired in this unnatural fog, mark my words."

Lieutenant James Norrington was singularly unimpressed. "Consider them marked." He replied coolly, "On your way."

The tone of his voice left no room for argument. "Aye, Lieutenant." He muttered as he passed the little group. Sulkily, he added under his breath, "Bad luck to have a woman onboard, too. Even two miniature ones." When he was sure that no one was looking, he took a pull from the flask he wore about his neck. If the Lieutenant, or the captain ever caught him drinking on duty he would be flogged for sure. He caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the elder Miss Swann, watching him carefully. He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the flask from her view, but she had already seen what he had done. However, to Gibbs' surprise, she made no move to report him. She merely smiled at him and turned back to face the prow. Gibbs huffed and went beck to his duties; perhaps having a woman onboard wasn't so bad in some cases after all.

Emma had indeed seen Gibbs drinking on duty, but she chose to not bring it up, despite the fact that it was against regulations. She liked Gibbs, even if he was gruff and a bit to superstitious for his own good. Besides, why punish him when he meant no harm to anyone? Every man has their little sins, and Emma didn't want to be the one who brought them to light.

Her little sister, Elizabeth, who always tried to act older than her twelve years, said to Norrington, "I think it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate."

Norrington probably wouldn't have tolerated that tone of voice from any of the men he commanded. With Elizabeth, though, he merely smiled indulgently. "Think again, Miss Swann." He said, as he came up to stand beside her to look at the surrounding water. "Violent, dissolute creatures the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves." His smile widened, as though he were enjoying an inside joke, "A short drop and a sudden stop."

Elizabeth was confused by this, until she looked over at Gibbs, who helped to clarify what Norrington had just said: a man being hanged.

Elizabeth gasped. Her father, Governor Weatherby Swann, quickly stepped in front of Gibbs and said with evident concern, "Lieutenant Norrington, I appreciate your fervor, but, I'm concerned about the effect this subject will have upon my daughter."

Emma had to smile at Elizabeth's miffed look. Their doting father was a bit protective of both his children, a fact which very often annoyed Elizabeth no end. But than, Elizabeth was sometimes to adventurous for her own good, so maybe it was for the best.

"My apologies, Governor Swann.' said Norrington, formal as always in the midst of his superiors. He bowed slightly and walked back onto the main deck

"Actually, I find it all fascinating." said Elizabeth, with the enthusiasm of a girl who didn't know the truth behind half of the stories that she read.

"Yes, that's what concerns me." Leaving Elizabeth's side, he followed Norrington, stopping for a moment to say to Emma, "Try and get her mind on something else, will you? You'll be able to dot it faster than anyone else."

"I'll try, father." said Emma.

Emma walked up beside her sister, slightly amused to see her fuming with temper. "Oh, come now, Elizabeth. You mustn't blame father for being protective. You know what he's been like ever since mother died."

"I just wish that he wouldn't treat like I'm still a child."

"Elizabeth, the last time I checked, you are still quite young."

"I know, but I'm not a helpless babe either. I just wish that he would accept that."

Emma refrained from saying that there was more to piracy than anything that was published in books, a much darker side. In all probability, Elizabeth wouldn't listen.

Elizabeth and Emma were almost totally unalike. Whereas Emma was quiet, studious and patient, Elizabeth was rash, adventurous, and lively, already a handful at ten years. At fifteen years of age, Emma's education had been more extensive than most girls her age or class received. Her knowledge went beyond music, dancing and embroidery. She was also a student of history, philosophy and politics. However, she had one gift that couldn't come through years of study: an innate understanding of the human character. She could tell a lot about someone just by looking at them, and before even sharing two words with them, she knew what they were like. Elizabeth, though she was very bright herself, had a hard time sitting still. She much preferred to read stories, especially stories of piracy. Her active imagination had given way to some rather unusual games back home in England and had caused their father, not to mention her nursemaids, no small amount of headaches. Nonetheless, despite the differences between them, the sisters were incredibly close and nothing had been able to stop them from forming a close friendship.

Elizabeth was silent for a moment, than she said, quietly, "Do you think, is mother were alive, she would be coming with us right now?"

Emma shook her head, as she put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulder, "I don't know, Elizabeth. She had a strong mind, but her heart was weak ever since she had influenza as a girl. When she suffered that relapse, she just couldn't take it. If she had remained healthy, however, I don't think that anything would have kept her from making this trip. You and she were very much alike, always looking for a new adventure somewhere beyond the horizon."

Elizabeth smiled, though it was sad, "I miss her."

"So do I, Elizabeth. But she is watching over us. And she always will be."

That brought an end to the conversation, for there didn't seem too much else to say. They were sad to be leaving England, and all the memories that were associated with it, but the prospect of a new adventure and a new life to build caused even the most saddened part of them to be giddy with excitement.

The silence was broken when Elizabeth spotted something in the water below them, something that wasn't supposed to be there: a parasol floating by the ship on the gently rolling waters. Of all the strange things that Elizabeth had expected (and hoped) to find on this voyage, this certainly hadn't been one of them. She poked her sister in the ribs to get her attention and pointed to her discovery. Emma was just as surprised by Elizabeth at this odd discovery, and together the two watched the parasol, following its course as it passed by the ship.

"What could a parasol be doing this far out at sea?" wondered Emma, softly to herself.

Elizabeth gave her a look. "What?"

"It's a perfectly valid question." said Emma, defensively," It had to have come from somewhere and we're miles from land, so..."

She couldn't finish that sentence for her eyes had shifted from the parasol back the way it had come. Her eyes grew wide and she gripped Elizabeth's shoulder, "Elizabeth, look!"

Elizabeth looked where her sister was pointing and gasped. There, barely floating above the water, a mess of lashed together driftwood, upon which were huddled two apparently unconscious figures.

Elizabeth's reaction was instantaneous. She turned and shouted to her father and Norrington, who were conversing in low tones a short distance away, "Look, a boy, there's boy in the water!"

"No, not one. Two. There are two of them." Emma amended, not taking her eyes off the two boys.

Men flooded to the sides to see what had created such a stir. "Men overboard!" shouted Norrington, "Man the ropes, fetch a hook. Haul them both aboard." There was a mad scramble to obey his orders and the rescue was not long in being completed.

The two Swann girls watched with interest as the boys were taken onboard, wet from time in the sea and still unconscious. Emma worried for a moment that their act of good will had come too late.

"They're still breathing." said Norrington, checking the vital signs of both, "Miraculously. There's no telling how long they might have been adrift..." He stopped and looked curiously at one of the boys. "Sir," he said to Swann, "look closely at this one, tell me if you see anything odd about him."

Swan bent over and he too must have seen what Norrington saw, for his eyebrows jumped a few inches and he seemed like he was about to speak, when Gibbs, who had been scanning the water, whispered in horror, "Mary, mother of God."

Emma, puzzled went to the railing along with the rest of the crew, and what she saw caused the blood to freeze in her veins. The burning hulk of a ship, before hidden by the fog, was now horrifyingly clear. The ship resembled the skeleton of a long dead beast rather than a vessel made from wood and timber. Blackened and still burning pieces of wood were scattered everywhere in pieces, and, in the rubble lay the tattered remnants of a British flag.

"What happened here?" asked Swann, once the initial wave of shock had passed.

"Most likely the powder magazine, "said Norrington, always the one to offer a matter-of-fact opinion, though he was clearly moved by the disaster before him. "Merchant vessels run heavily armed.

"Lot of good it did 'em." said Gibbs, who hadn't taken his eyes off of the wreckage, but now turned them on everyone. "Everyone's thinkin'; it, I'm just sayin' It." Back to the ship, "Pirates."

A frightened murmur ran through the sailors who were within earshot and Governor Swann laughed in obvious nervousness, "Now, there's no proof of that. It was probably an accident. "

But, he wasn't very convincing. The fear couldn't be dispelled. The burning wreck looked like it had been destroyed just recently and the pirates who did it could still be a short distance away. If they should happen to come upon the _Dauntless_, the navy ship could very well meet the same fate. The things that might be done to them didn't bear thinking about.

But, one man aboard that ship wasn't letting his imagination run wild on him and was thinking clearly. Lieutenant James Norrington had started out as a midshipman aboard his father's merchant vessel and he knew what kind of things the sailors would be feeling. It was up to him to keep them in line. One good way to do that was to give orders. If they had something useful to do, it would keep their minds panicking alternatives.

"Rouse the captain immediately. Heave-too and take in sail, launch the boats. We need to search for survivors."

The stupefied silence that had been binding the men to the deck vanished when Norrington's voice, clear and commanding, was heard. They fell to their tasks with alacrity, relieved that they had some sort of job to do.

However, James was the only one who knew that there was very little chance they would be able to find survivors. The fact that there had been no cries for help coming from the burning hulk, not even a single groan, was clear proof of that. It was becoming all to clear to him. They had come too late. If someone had survived, they would have heard something by now. He suspected that the children that they had pulled from the sea would be the only people that would be found alive from a vessel that could easily hold one hundred at the very least.

James balled his fists in rage, as he fought to keep his buried emotions under control. So many innocent lives snuffed out without so much as a second thought. He had no doubt that Gibbs suspicions were true. Pirates had committed this atrocity, cutting and running after taking everything of value. Typical of the murdering, cowardly scum. The sight before him was a perfect example of why he was so determined to rid the world of every last one of the animals that called themselves pirates. It was a purpose that burned in him day and night, because he knew the worst that pirates could do. He had seen it and felt it himself. He wanted tragedies like this to be avoided, so that mothers would still have sons, husbands would be able to return to their wives, and orphans, like himself, would still have someone to call father and someone to call mother.

But, now, was not the time to submit to rage or vengeance. He needed to be cool and calm now, for the sake of the men who looked to him or leadership. So, once he had gotten his temper under control, he walked to the waiting longboat to overseer the loading of the men onto it. He had the veneer of a collected officer, but no one could have known that behind that mask was human being who had a heart that beat like any other. And it beat now for vengeance.

Emma didn't notice the mad scramble around her to get a rescue underway. She and her sister were drawn to the children that had been taken from the sea. They were wet through and shivering even in their sleep. Emma felt an intense wave of sympathy for the two. They had been through something that would have killed anyone else, that much was certain.

As the midshipman picked up the two children, Governor Swann bent down and spoke to both Elizabeth and Emma, "Elizabeth, I want you to accompany the boy, and Emma, look out for the girl. They'll both in your hands for the rest of the voyage."

"Wait, girl?" asked Emma, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"Yes, one of them is a girl. Heaven knows why she would be dressed as a boy for I'm sure that neither myself nor Lieutenant Norrington knows why. Perhaps when they regain their strength, we'll be able to find out more. Take care of them."

"We will father." said Emma, as Elizabeth nodded solemnly.

The two refugees, nestled under blankets, were now able to be viewed in close detail by the Swann girls. Emma was able to identify the girl by her finer features and less stocky build, and took to watching her at once, while Elizabeth hovered over the boy, whose sleeping form she was strangely drawn too.

The girl suddenly stirred and opened her eyes. She saw that she was in a strange place and tried to sit up, but she was weak, and fell back to the deck with a moan. A soft hand settled on her shoulder, and stroked her forehead. "Hush, little one, don't try and move. It's all right, no one will hurt you."

The girl blinked and tried to focus on the face above her. The voice, the touch, they both seemed so familiar somehow. "Mother?" She croaked hoarsely.

Emma felt like her heart was breaking. Had this poor girl's mother perished in the wreck? If that was so, than she hated to disappoint her. "No." She said, quietly, "My name is Emma Swan. What's your name?"

"M- Marie." She said, instinctively trusting her, "Where am I? Where's my brother? Is he safe too?"

Emma began to wonder if Marie's whole family had been lost aboard that ship and if she were not the only one who was left. But she couldn't tell the girl that, not yet, at least. "I don't know, Marie, but as soon as I learn something about him I will tell you." It wasn't a lie, she truly didn't know if any of Marie's family were alive, though she hoped they were.

Suddenly, the boy gasped and came awake, grabbing Elizabeth, who had been stroking his hair, by the wrist. He gazed up at Elizabeth with wide eyes, frightened by his strange surroundings, but also knowing in an instant that he had never seen a more beautiful creature in his entire life. Had he died, and was this girl one of the guardian angels that his mother had told him and his sister about.

Elizabeth was startled by the sudden, violent awakening of the boy but she wasn't afraid, "Its okay." She reassured him, "My name is Elizabeth Swann."

"Will Turner." The boy gasped.

"I'm watching over you, Will." Elizabeth said softly.

Will's head fell back and he closed his eyes. He looked like he had slipped back into unconsciousness, but than he called softly, "Marie, Marie."

Somehow, Marie managed to drag herself over to his side and put a hand on Will's shoulder, "I'm right here, Will. Everything will be all right. We're safe." She glanced up at Emma and Elizabeth, "We are, aren't we?

"Yes, of course you are." soothed Emma, "Sleep now. You're both safe, Marie. You have my word."

Marie seemed to need only that for an answer. Her head sank down to her brother's side and she fell back to sleep.

Emma was so absorbed for a moment in the caring of the two children that she didn't notice what Elizabeth was doing until she heard her say in a breathless voice, "You're a pirate." She looked up to see that Elizabeth was clutching something in her hands, an awestruck look in her eyes."

"Have they said anything?" asked Norrington, behind her.

Elizabeth nearly jumped out of her skin, and turned, hiding the it was behind her back, "His name's William Turner and her sister's name is Marie. That's all we've found out."

Norrington nodded, matter-of-fact as always, "Take them below."

Sailors came forward and gathered up both the children to take them to below decks, where they would be better protected from the elements. Emma came up behind her sister and asked, "Elizabeth, what did you find?"

"Nothing." said Elizabeth, still trying to hide what she had found behind her.

"Elizabeth." said Emma sternly.

Elizabeth sighed and handed over the medallion to he sister. When she wanted to, Emma could be almost as imposing as her mother used to be.

Emma looked at the gold medallion and turned it over in her fingers. A skull looked at her, surrounded by strange and complex symbols which Emma didn't recognize, but which she immediately found to be threatening. There was something about the medallion that made her feel distinctly uneasy.

"Where did you find this?" she asked her voice tense.

"It was around Will's neck. I-I didn't want to tell Norrington about it because I wasn't sure if it meant that Will was a pirate."

"You mean, perhaps Will and Marie might have served on the pirate ship that attacked..." Emma let the sentence hang in the air.

Elizabeth nodded, "I couldn't let Norrington hang them. They're just children."

Emma was about to say that Norrington would never be so heartless in his pursuit of piracy as to even think of hanging a child, but the words stalled in her throat. She suddenly realized that she couldn't take her eyes off the medallion. She began to feel a strange buzz in her hand, a buzz that moved through her fingers, up her arm and traveled to the rest of her body. She hated the very feel of having the medallion in her hand and yet, she couldn't let go of it. She almost felt as if the medallion were trying to reach her in some vile way and she didn't want to fall victim to whatever that influence might be.

She handed it quickly back to Elizabeth, "You were quite right. Take it to the prow of the ship and throw it into the sea."

"What?" said, Elizabeth, surprised and puzzled that her sister would make such an odd request.

"Destroy it, Elizabeth."

"But, couldn't we hide it and give it back to Will-"

"No!" said Emma, sharper than she had intended it to be. Seeing Elizabeth's hurt face, she knelt down in front of her and said in a softer voice, "I'm sorry, Elizabeth, but you have to understand why I ask you to do this. Whatever that medallion is and wherever it came from, it is evil. We can't have it with us any longer. It would be a danger for all of us."

"Why? I don't understand."

"One day, you will." said Emma, "For now, please trust me."

"All right."

Emma smiled, visibly relieved and followed the sailors who were taking Will and Marie below. Had she known what would have happened next, she wouldn't have been so quick to leave Elizabeth to her own devices.

Elizabeth went to the front of the ship. As the rest of the crew was still preoccupied with finding survivors from the burning wreck, no one noticed her examining the medallion more closely. She couldn't understand why Emma was so anxious to be rid of it. She was too young to feel the strange buzzing that had so unnerved her sister and wouldn't have been able to understand it if she had. Instead of looking at it with apprehension, she gazed at it with an intense spirit of curiosity. What did the strange letterings and carvings mean? And the skull? They obviously stood for something and they obviously were meant to go together in some pattern, but how and why?

She held the medallion up to her face to get a better look at it. But, when she did, the skull on the medallion became the skull of a pirate flag. Startled, Elizabeth peered into the mist and saw a ship that she was certain hadn't been there before. The ship, black and grim with its tattered sails resembled something out of her deepest might. It seemed to move without the aid of the wind, for despite the wretched condition of the sails, it was moving away at a high rate of speed, as though intent on making a quick get away.

Elizabeth instantly linked the fleeing ship with the burning ship that they had just passed. But terror so rooted her to the spot that she couldn't scream or give one word of warning to the crew of the _Dauntless _behind her, she found that it was hard even to breath.

The flag undulated and sifted in the wind turning to face her, the skull seemingly grinning at her with eyes that were unable to see her and yet could stare straight into her soul at the same time. Elizabeth shut her eyes tightly to block out the horrible sight.

And, when she opened them again eight years had passed in the space of seconds and the girl had become a woman.


	2. Chapter 2: Siblings

Chapter 2: Siblings

Elizabeth Swann looked around her darkened room, eyes wide open, sleep now completely forgotten. Her mind was filled with images of the dream she had just experienced. It had been so real, as if she had gone back in time for that one-half hour and had relived that dreadful day at sea. This was the first time in eight years that she had ever dreamed of it, though she had certainly thought enough about it in the interim.

Struck by sudden curiosity, she got up from her bed and opened one of the drawers in her dresser. She removed the books and other little things that were inside, than gabbing hold of the small knob that was set right against the door, where only these who were looking for it could have found it, she pushed forward. The bottom of the drawer slid away, revealing a hidden compartment that held but two things, a lot of dust and the medallion, resting in the same place that she placed it eight years before. The medallion had been ensconced in the same drawer, forgotten and unthought-of, for so long, that Elizabeth was surprised to see that it wasn't covered in dust. It was still as new and shiny as when she had taken it from Will's neck so long ago.

She carefully removed the medallion, and stared at its gleaming surface. The skull set into its center still grinned up at her crookedly. The medallion felt cold under her fingers, making her shudder.

She momentarily thought why she had never destroyed the medallion as her sister had instructed her to do. After she had seen the pirate ship disappear into the mist, she had somehow sensed that if she threw it into the sea than the crew would be in even greater peril that if she held onto it. When her sister had asked her later if she had taken care of it, she had lied to Emma for the first time that she could ever remember. She hadn't enjoyed the feeing, and needless to say, she hadn't done it again.

Elizabeth lifted the medallion around her neck, looking at her reflection in the mirror, wandering what it was like to be a real pirate and sail the seas, with one adventure after another on the horizon. Elizabeth still harbored fascinations and dreams about pirates that were almost childish at times, despite the fact that she was twenty years old. But before she could consider her reflection for very long, a knock sounded at her door. "Elizabeth?" said Weatherby Swann, from behind the door.

Seized by sudden panic, Elizabeth grabbed for her robe, knocking over a chair in her haste.

Alarmed by the clatter, she heard her father's voice rather hesitantly asking her, "Elizabeth, are you all right? Are you decent?"

Elizabeth hurridly put on her robe. "Yes, yes." Only at the last moment did she remember the medallion. Having no other place to hide it, she slipped it into the bodice of her nightgown. Not the most perfect of hiding places, but the best she could come up at such short notice.

The next instant, her father came into the room, an indulgent smile on his kindly face, "Still abed at this hour." He admonished his child good-naturedly. Her maids Estrella and Katherine followed Governor Swann into the room, Katherine holding a large box in her hands. "It's gong to be a beautiful day." Swann continued, as Estrella opened the windows of her room, revealing the bay of Port Royal shimmering like a jewel under the Caribbean sun. Her father was right; it was going to be a fine day. "I have a gift for you."

Katherine stepped forward and Swann removed the top of the box, revealing a beautiful dress, made of silk which was the color of pearl, with gold embroidery in flowered patterns all over it. "Oh, it's beautiful." Breathed Elizabeth, taking out the dress to get a better look at it. Of course, the Governor's daughter always got the best of everything, but this was an especially fine piece of workmanship, the kind she only got when there was some sort of special occasion to be celebrated. That thought made her pause. "Might I enquire as to the occasion?"

"Does a father need an occasion to dote upon his daughter?" asked Swann, and while it was partly true, he couldn't hide his partially guilty expression. Besides the fact that he wanted his daughter to look beautiful, there was an ulterior motive as his choosing this particular dress for this particular day.

As Elizabeth and her maids disappeared behind the screen, she could hear him scoffing his toes and coughing nervously. "Actually," he began hesitantly, "I had hoped you might wear it to the ceremony today."

"Ceremony?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony."

Elizabeth poked her head out behind the screen. "I knew it."

"Commodore Norrington," said Swann, with a hint of pride, "As he's about to become." A Moment of silence followed this. "A fine gentleman, don't you think?" He didn't get a response. "He fancies you, you know?"

'But, I don't want him to fancy me, not when Emma...' Before Elizabeth could go any further with that thought, she was suddenly jerked back to a rather unpleasant reality. She more or less had forgotten her maids and the corset. She gasped as they pulled the strings tight against her chest, driving all the air from her lungs and making it increasingly difficult for her to get anymore into them.

"Elizabeth?" asked her father, concerned by what he was hearing, "How's it coming?"

"Difficult to say." gasped Elizabeth, her voice sounding unusually strained.

"I'm told it's the latest fashion in London."

"Well, women in London must have learned not to breath." Was Elizabeth still gasping sarcastic reply.

Before Swann could answer, a servant appeared at the door, "M'lord, you have visitors."

"Oh, of course. If you will excuse me my dear."

Elizabeth didn't answer; she could hardly breathe, let alone talk. She couldn't remember the last time she had worn a corset this tight.

"There you are, Miss Swann." said Katherine, as she tugged a few more time and finally tied the strings. "You're going to look absolutely ravishing in that gown."

A noncommittal nod was the only answer Elizabeth gave. She had to admit that the dress wasn't all that appealing to her anymore. The last thing she wanted to do was catch the eye of the soon to be Commodore Norrington anymore than she had been doing. He had been dropping hints that he was interested in her for the past few months. Elizabeth had ignored them, hoping that he would drop the whole matter, but that was not to be, it seemed. And she was now dreading what the morning would bring. If her father was right and Norrington did intend to propose, than... The thought was too frightening for Elizabeth to think about. Suffice it to say, that Emma would certainly not be pleased.

* * *

As Governor Swann was walking down the hall to receive the visitors that had been announced, he ran straight into his eldest daughter. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Emma." he said.

"It's all right, father." said the twenty-three old Emma with a smile, "The fault is really mine. I was lost in my own thoughts and should have been looking where I was going."

Her father was about to state that he felt the opposite way, but he didn't get a chance to say it, because he finally got a chance to look at Emma. His face broke into a smile and he said, enthusiastically, "Why, my dear, you look absolutely lovely. That dress is really your color."

Emma was wearing a lavender dress with swirling patterns of white embroidery around the hem and bodice. And the color really did suit her. It must be admitted that Emma had grown up rather plain. No comparison could be made between her sister's looks and her own without it being said that Elizabeth was the more beautiful of the two. However, there was loveliness about Emma that only those who took the time to look could fully appreciate.

Today, however, she did look exceptionally lovely, and the effect was not lost upon her father. Emma had to blush at the complement that she had given him, because she not used to such praise. "Thank you, father."

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were trying to catch the eye of someone."

Her father had been joking for he wasn't aware of anyone that Emma was interested in, and Emma laughed along with him, though not necessarily for the same reasons. Swann might have been surprised to know just how close to the truth his statement had been.

"Oh, father, Marie and Will are waiting for you downstairs."

"Ah, yes, of course, they will be here with the Commodore Norrington sword." He looked behind him and dropped his voice. "Would you please help your sister to get ready? You know how Elizabeth can be in the mornings, especially when there is something like this to go to, and we mustn't be late."

"I will, father." said Emma, as he walked away from her. She herself made her way to Elizabeth's room and looking inside, she had to smile. The maids had managed to get Elizabeth into the dress, but Elizabeth's hair was proving to be an even harder challenge. Elizabeth had a notorious bed-head in the morning, and today was no exception. Her patience had already been strained getting dressed, and so the fact that the maids were primping and fawning over her didn't help her mood either.

"Elizabeth," said Emma, "do you need help?

"Oh, Emma, I'm so glad that you're here." said Elizabeth, squirming to get away from her maids' prying hands.

Emma sized up immediately what needed to be done. Speaking to Katherine and Estella, "You have completed your duties with Elizabeth. You can attend to your other chores." The maids curtsied and finally left.

"Thank you, Emma. I know that they mean well, but they just can't do my hair the way that you can."

"I'm glad that we are in agreement on that point. Now turn around and sit still."

Elizabeth obeyed and Emma came over to the vanity and picked up a brush. Gently, she began running it through Elizabeth's tangled hair, carefully untangling the snarls.

"So, are you looking forward to the ceremony today?"

"Please don't bring it up." huffed Elizabeth, "The only thing that these ceremonies mean to me is wearing dresses that you can hardly breath in and pretending to be interested in whichever person you happen to be listening to. Both tasks prove to be impossible by the end of the day."

"Oh Elizabeth, it's not that bad. At least you won't have to endure the attentions of that insufferable Lady Margaret Bulveridge. She's been making me the unfortunate object of her attention ever since she arrived at Port Royal. She's always accosting me with some new idea that she thinks will improve the standard of living in Port Royal, but are in truth are as silly as she is."

Despite the obvious annoyance that this Margaret Bulveridge aroused in Emma, she said it with a great deal of good humor, and Elizabeth felt her heart sink. She knew why her sister was in such a good mood, and she hated to be the one to destroy it, but if she didn't tell her, than it would make the whole ghastly business that much harder to get through.

"I'm the one who will be worrying about unwanted interviews, if father's word is anything to go by."

"Oh," said Emma, distracted by a particularly stubborn knot, "What did he say?"

"Oh, Emma, will you ever be able to forgive me?"

"Elizabeth," said Emma, with a slight laugh, "you needn't worry. Whatever you have to say cannot be as bad as you think."

"I only wonder how long that feeling will last. Emma, father hinted (he just hinted, he didn't say anything definite), he hinted that the Commodore would be proposing to me today."

The brush clattered to the floor. Emma's normally gentle fingers became suddenly entangled in Elizabeth's hair.

"Ouch!" cried Elizabeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Elizabeth." said Emma, trying to undue her fingers from Elizabeth's hair. When she bent to retrieve the brush, Elizabeth could tell that it took her longer for her to get it than it should have. She knew that Emma needed that time to hide her emotions away inside her heart, as she had been doing on this subject for so long.

Finally, Emma got to her feet, and though she was smiling, it was all to clear to Elizabeth that it was a fake. "Now, what were you saying? Oh yes, that Commodore Norrington will be proposing today?"

"Yes, or at the very least, if what he said is anything to be believed."

Emma was silent for a moment, as though trying to absorb the information, than she said, "Oh, well, that's wonderful."

"Don't give me that, Emma." said Elizabeth, turning in her chair to look up at her sister. "I know that you love Norrington, and that you have for the last three years. You might be able to hide it from father, the rest of the world, even him, but you won't be so lucky with me."

"Elizabeth, I-I'm fine. I promise you."

Elizabeth knew that it was impossible to argue with Emma when she used that tone. Nonetheless, she could see in the mirror that her sister's voice was not nearly as bright and happy as it had been just a few moments before. Elizabeth knew why. Her sister had been in love with James Norrington for three years. She had hid it from everyone, except for Elizabeth. She didn't bring it up much, but Elizabeth just knew that time would only make her more in love with Norrington.

As Emma finished her hair, they didn't talk anymore. The genial mood had more or less vanished. The years hadn't separated Emma or Elizabeth. They were as close as two sisters could be, but sometimes even the closest of sisters can suffer pans of jealousy. And in that moment, Emma would have given much to be in Elizabeth's place.

However, there wouldn't be much time to languish, which was for the best. As Emma was putting the last touches on Elizabeth's hair, a servant appeared at the door. "Excuse me, Miss Swann, Miss Elizabeth, but your father is asking for you. He says that it's almost time to go."

"We shall be there in a moment." replied Emma, than once they were alone, she turned back to Elizabeth, "Don't worry about me, Elizabeth, please. I shall be all right."

"I just don't want to be your enemy." said Elizabeth.

Emma smiled, a little wider this time. "As long as you are my sister, Elizabeth, I can assure you that you will never be my enemy."

With that, the two sisters headed downstairs to begin the day's events, little knowing or even suspecting that it would be a day that would change both of their lives forever.

* * *

It was not often than visitors were received at such an early hour to interrupt the routine of the servants as they went about their daily tasks, but today was an exception. The fact that the there were visitors was strange enough, but these visitors were very unusual in and of themselves. The man and the woman wore the clothes of those that belonged to the working class, but while the man seemed fairly ordinary in his appearance (although undeniably good-looking), the woman who was with him drew more than a few stares from the servants who were passing through the room.

The reason for their stares was obvious enough. The woman, instead of wearing the usual skirt that was expected of a woman, wore instead the breeches and shirt that were traditionally reserved for the opposite sex. Many shook their heads and whispered in disapproval to either themselves or their companions. But even if Marie Turner heard or saw their reactions to her unconventional clothing, she gave no sign that she cared, which was easy to do, because Marie didn't care what others thought of her.

Since they had been rescued eight years ago, a lot of things had changed about Will and Marie. Will had grown into a handsome man, tall, broad-shouldered and with dark brown eyes that expressed his deepest feelings and emotions. Marie, being his twin sister, had also grown to be a very beautiful woman. Her figure was pleasing to the eye, while her long dark hair, the same color as Will's, was normally tied back in a braid. Her eyes, though, were very easily the most striking feature of her face. Deep blue-green in color, they were just as expressive of what she was feeling as were Will's own eyes. If she was happy, they were as blue as sea and when she was angry, which was nearly as often as when she was happy, they would turn deep sapphire green. Anyone who had ever seen that sapphire-green color and had experienced the wrath behind it. Knew better than to ever raise it again.

She and Will were almost complete opposites from them. She was as wild and unconventional as Will was constrained and proper. She not only dressed in men's clothing (the last time she had worn was five years before, and she had sworn at that time that she would never wear them again, she hated them so much), she could fight better with two swords than most men could fight with one. Her outspoken and mischievous nature made her quite a handful for her brother. Nonetheless, the two were devoted to each other. The experience of nearly dying together at such a young age had made them even closer than siblings normally were. Gladly would they have died to save the other. They really could not imagine a life where the other was not there.

Marie stood in the foyer, looking around her. She never felt comfortable in such opulent surroundings. She always felt unwelcome, looked down upon in such places. Even in this house, where she and Will were, for the most part, welcome, she felt like an outsider. That was a common judgement which Marie encountered wherever she went. Only with Will, it seemed, was she ever truly accepted and valued for who she was. It was a price that she had paid for being who she was, but to be quite honest, she would not have traded it for anything.

CRONG!

She jumped, startled out her thoughts. Turning too inspect what had caused the noise, she found herself grinning. Will was holding a piece of candelabra, which he had just managed to break off from the main piece that was attached to the wall. He didn't seem to know what to do with the piece he had, and with the sounds of a servant approaching the foyer, he was looking around in desperation for a place to hide it. He finally stuffed it into a brass urn on the floor. He nodded to the servant, as if nothing had happened. The servant didn't even deign to look at him.

"Well, that well done." said Marie, her grin widening even more.

"Don't say anything." said Will, through gritted teeth.

Marie laughed and shook her head, "You'd think, Will, that if you could determine the exact thinness of what a sword-blade should be, would know better than to fiddle with something that's as easy to break as a matchstick."

"I asked you not to say anything." said Will, seemingly annoyed, but trying to keep from smiling.

"And miss such a wonderful opportunity?" quipped Marie.

Before Will could make a smart reply, they were stopped by the appearance of Governor Swann." Ah, Mister Turner, good to see you again." He greeted her brother delightedly, but when he caught sight of Marie's unconventional clothing he stopped and stared for a moment, than realizing he was violating decorum, quickly said to her in cordial manner, "And, Miss Turner, a pleasure to see you also."

"Thank you, Governor." She replied, nodding. She normally wasn't one to worry about etiquette, but since she liked Governor Swann, she was willing to make an exception.

Will was unusually excited about this visit. "Good day, sir." He said with a beaming smile, dark eyes agleam. "I have your order."

He set the sword case that he had been carrying on the tale and opened it. He withdrew a sheath, wonderfully made and presented it ceremonially to the Governor, who took it from him and withdrew the sword. It was an exquisite piece of workmanship; the blade glittered in the morning sunlight, sharp and straight as an icicle in midwinter. Gold swirled around the hilt like an intertwining snake. Beautiful, but deadly, the kind of weapon that only a true master could have crafted. Swann seemed to be impressed despite himself.

Will, eager to hear his judgment, piped up, "The blade is folded still. That's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may." Swann handed the sword to Will, who balanced it on is forefinger. The blade tilted for a few seconds, than became still. "Perfectly balanced, the tang is nearly the full width of the blade." Unexpectedly, he flipped the sword in the air and in a flash, caught it again, and presented it to the Governor with a flourish. Marie was beaming with pride. No one could make a sword like her brother, of that she was confidant.

"Impressive, very impressive." said Swann, obviously satisfied by what had been delivered. "Commodore Norrington is going to be very pleased with this." He sheathed the sword and handed it back to Will, who was smiling as he put it back in the box. He looked at Marie, who was mirroring his exact look.

But what Swann said next, killed the moment of triumph for the two twins. "Do pass my complements onto your master."

Will's smile faded and a look of disappointment crossed his face, "I shall." He said his enthusiasm somewhat depleted. "A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated."

Marie couldn't believe what Will had just said. The work was his own. He had spent hours of work and lost sleep to get the sword to the point of perfection. Mr. Brown had never even touched the sword, much less done anything to help make it. Will should have been standing up for his work, not letting the credit be handed over to one who didn't deserve it. "But, Will, you-"

Will turned his face to look at Marie. "Marie." He said softly. He didn't want her to say anything. It wouldn't do to object to the Governor in his own house. Besides, he was used to almost never getting the credit for what was his. It was just his fate, and he had become resigned to it long ago.

Swann's voice brought them both back to the present moment. "Ah, Elizabeth, you look absolutely stunning."

Will looked up at the staircase, and instantly had to remember to breath. Elizabeth and Emma were coming down the stairs, speaking to each other in low voices, but all that Will could see was Elizabeth. She didn't just look stunning; she also looked beautiful, amazing and breath-taking. Will would have been hard-pressed to find any sort of flaw in the heavenly vision before him.

When Elizabeth heard her father's voice and saw Will standing there below her, her entire face brightened into a smile and she hurried down the steps. "Marie, Will, it's so good to see you." She may have included Marie's name in the greeting, but it was clear that she only saw Will.

Emma followed her sister down the steps, delivering her own greeting to two of her dearest friends. "Good morning Will, Marie. It's been too long."

Will barely heard her and didn't even acknowledge her presence. Instead of being offended, Emma merely exchanged secret smiles with Marie. Ever since their first meeting, Will and Elizabeth had shared a connection that went beyond simple friendship. And within the last few years, that connection that few could understand had grown into something else: love. This was very obvious to Emma and Marie, but, unfortunately, Will and Elizabeth (Will especially), were reluctant to admit what crackled in the air between them every time they met.

"I had a dream about you last night." said an eager-eyed Elizabeth to Will.

Swann coughed and said, "Yes, Elizabeth, do you think it's entirely proper for you to-"

He was trying to remind her of her place. He didn't mind the fact that his two children had become such close friends with the Turner twins, despite Marie's unconventional habits. Elizabeth had grown up a touch headstrong, but than, she always had been. But, she still had a position that she had to consider and what she was telling Will was certainly going too far for his liking.

However, this did no good whatsoever. Elizabeth ignored him and continued to talk to Will. "About the day we met, do you remember?"

Of course he remembered; how could he forget the day that he first laid eyes on the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and who was still more beautiful than anything he could ever dream of? He felt like he was drowning in her eyes. He had to work hard to remember who and where he was, and that sweeping Elizabeth into his arms and kissing her (which was what he really wanted to do), especially in her father's presence, would be a very stupid thing to do. But what could he say? How could he keep the words and feelings that were beating in his heart from showing?

He finally took the path that he knew would be safe, even though his impetuous nature was straining to be let out. "How could I forget, Miss Swann?"

"Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?" asked Elizabeth, hoping to get something more than just his normal polite response.

"At least once more, Miss Swann, as always." He had to choke out the words, for they were the exact opposite of all that he wanted to say. Elizabeth's look of disappointment was almost too much for him to stand.

Governor Swann leapt into the opening, bringing the conversation to an end before it could go any further down the path of awkwardness. They had already traveled a little too far for his liking in any case. "There, you see. At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going." He moved to the door followed by two footmen, one of whom was holding the sword case.

Emma followed, but paused jut long enough to give Marie and Will a genuine smile. "Good day to you both. We must meet again soon, and when we do, it must be longer."

"Of course, Emma." said Marie, who knew that there wasn't any false sentiment in Emma's wish. Hardly anything that Emma said was a lie.

Emma had also said it to try and break the barrier that had been thrown up between Will and Elizabeth. But, Emma knew at the same time that there was very little that she could do. If Elizabeth and Will ever wanted to be together, there were some things which they would have to overcome on their own.

Elizabeth was the last to leave and she and Will shared one last look. "Good day, Mr. Turner, Miss Turner." She said frostily, the brightness gone from her eyes.

She swept past Will and followed her father and sister out the door. Will ,desperate to keep her in sight for as long as he could, hurried after them. "Good day," He said aloud, and than softer than a summer breeze, he whispered after the departing carriage. "Elizabeth."

The carriage rattled down the drive and disappeared around the corner, leaving Will and Marie behind in a cloud of dust. Marie, who had followed him out of the mansion, had heard Will whisper Elizabeth's name, and she felt it was time that she shared a talk with Will about his actions. "Will, every time I think I understand you, something happens that forces me to start trying to figure you out all over again. I can't begin to tell you how annoying that is."

"What do you mean?" asked Will, turning to look at her now that the carriage was out of sight.

"I mean that you're brave enough to face down a swarm of mad pirates should the opportunity ever present itself, but you can't tell the woman that you love the feelings you have for her."

"Is it that obvious?" said Will, as they down the drive and unto the road that take them back down into the town of Port Royal.

"Oh, don't worry, Will, you hide it very well, especially when you look at nothing else when Elizabeth is in the same room as you, or the way that you insist on bringing up orders here yourself on the off chance that you might get a glimpse of her. Believe me, Will, you hide it so well, that Elizabeth isn't even sure that you love her. Except for me and Emma, the rest of the world doesn't suspect a thing."

"Why do I get the feeling that you aren't very happy with that?"

"Because, Will, I know you, and I know how this affects you. How long have you known Elizabeth? And in all that time, when have you ever tried to tell her what you feel about her? Just try it. What have you got to lose?"

"Marie, I'm a blacksmith's apprentice. Do you know how unlikely it would be for a person like me and someone like Elizabeth to-?"

"Oh, please, don't start your 'differences in class' lecture again. I've heard it a hundered times, and stopped listening to it after that. And that is still no excuse for your reluctance. Class shouldn't be what guides your actions when you talk to a woman like Elizabeth. She's human, just like you and you might be surprised how far you get with her should you start treating her like one."

"What do you mean?"

"Will, has it ever occurred to you that one of the reasons Elizabeth might like you is because you don't insist on treating her like precious porcelain. Believe me, she may be an aristocrat by birth, but you can be sure that she is no lady. You and I have treated her like she's an equal and that's how she's always been to us. At least you did until a few years ago. It sometimes still comes out, when the four of us are alone. But let Governor Swann so much as show his face and you become this cool, austere person that I don't know. I swear, you can get so boring with anyone who is above us, I can hardly can keep my eyes open."

"And how would you describe me in private?"

"Only a little better."

Wills topped and looked at her. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

He was starting to smile that boyish, charming smile of his, the one that revealed his true character. She was smiling too. There was real brother. "Maybe. Is it working?"

"Being older than you has taught me to largely forgive you less than mature ways."

"Older brother? Less mature?" said Marie, seemingly appalled by what Will had said.

She lunged at him, but Will side-stepped. Marie went down and Will was on her in a second. Together, they wrestled in the road for a few minutes, reliving for a short span of time, the carefree days of their childhood. It was fortunate that this particular stretch of the road was deserted, otherwise someone would have thought that they were either insane or a robbery was taking place.

Finally, Will ended up pinning his sister to the ground. "Do you give up, little sister?"

"All right, all right, you win this time."

Will loosened his hold on her, but the very instant he did, Marie leapt up and grabbed him by the legs, effectively tripping him and turning the tables. In a few seconds, it was Will who was being pinned by her. "Do _you_ give up?" She asked, smugly.

"No fair. You cheated."

"You're breaking my heart, but how else would you expect me to win? Now do you yield or not."

"Fine, but you shouldn't be deliberately looking for ways to humiliate me. After all, I am your older brother."

"By a full twenty minutes." Marie reminded him.

"Its enough." asserted Will, as she helped up.

Dusting each other off, they continued on their way into the town. "Well, that was certainly something new." said Marie. "Normally, you start those wrestling matches because of something I've said. Now, it's me. I must be losing my touch."

"I've grown so used to your variety of mocks that they don't work anymore on me." Marie shot him a skeptical look. "Fine, almost never."

"Than I must start looking for new materiel. If I can't get drive you half mad than nearly all the purpose will be gone from my life."

"And just what did you have in mind, if I dare ask?"

"Falling in love, perhaps? Turning pirate? Those are two things that know would drive you to the edge of your patience."

Will stopped. His smile faded and his eyes grew dark. "You've never met a man that you tolerate for more than few minutes. And as for piracy, I hope that is in neither of out futures. We have already experienced them at their worst."

Marie's face softened as she heard this. She knew what Will meant. He was remembering the ill-fated ship that had carried her and Will across the Atlantic from England. They had never discussed that attack, but it still lingered in their memories and in their dreams. They could still remember cruel laughter, the smell of blood, the screams of dying men, women and children. That attack had given Will a hatred of pirates that had never left him. Probably part of it arose from the fact that one of those pirates had tried to kill Marie, and it had only been through Will's bravery that she had managed to survive.

Marie put a hand on Will's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Will. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's all right, Marie. You didn't mean it. I would just hate to lose you to those beasts. I would hate to see it happen again."

"Well, we never can tell the future." said Marie, trying to lighten the mood. "Who knows, I just might surprise you one of these days and do both."

"What? Fall in love with a pirate? That's the most doubtful thing of all."

Well, don't speak certainly. If we knew that life was going to bring, it would take all the fun out of living it. Come on, I'll race you to the shop."

Laughing, the two of them raced off down the dusty road, leaving, at least for now, all anxieties behind, and enjoying the bound they shared of brother and sister.

But as Marie had said, nothing is ever certain. And little could the siblings by the names of Turner and Swann have guessed that this day would be unlike any they had ever before experienced. This day would be the beginning of an adventure that would forever change the course of their lives and their destinies.


	3. Chapter 2: Captain Jack Sparrow

Chapter 2: Captain Jack Sparrow

The sun was well over the Caribbean Sea, signaling the beginning of midmorning, and it was at this exact time of morning that trouble began to make its' final approach to the harbor of Port Royal. It wasn't trouble that came in the form of a storm, but it could cause almost as much trouble, if the conditions happened to be right.

Captain Jack Sparrow stood tall upon the mast of his ship, the wind whipping the braids of his hair around his face, the various trinkets and beads clinking and jangling wildly. Seeming to be the very picture of confidence, he looked boldly out to the horizon, watching the approaching landscape with his keen eyes. He was, though he would not have admitted it to anyone but himself, very relieved to see that he would find a place to land. Had anyone else expressed concern at the situation, he would merely have said that Fortune, which always seemed to be on his side in even the direst circumstances, would have provided a way out.

Assured that land was indeed approaching, Jack's eyes moved downward rather abruptly to survey what was transpiring on the deck below him. 'Uh oh,' he thought, 'this could turn ugly.'

Grabbing on the ropes, he fell the rather short drop to the deck below him and landed in... water? As it turned out, the ship that Jack was currently on was not a ship at all, but rather, a rinky-dink fishing boat that had obviously seen much better days. In fact, it wouldn't be much of a boat for very much longer, because it was sinking, rapidly.

Nonetheless, now that land was in sight, nothing would be able to keep Jack from reaching it. As much as he loved the sea, he wasn't to keen on drowning in it, not yet, at any rate.

Now, the first item of business was making sure that this boat he was on would be able to stay afloat long enough to bring him into harbor. Clambering from the aft to the fore of the boat, he rooted around in all the sundry items that were floating half in, half out of the water, and eventually found a bucket that would serve as a temporary bailing container. Filling up the bucket with water, he threw the water that was gathering in the boat back into the sea. It made very little difference, either in the amount of water that was in the boat already or in the prevention of more water from coming in, but he at least felt like he was doing something to control his destiny, and since Jack was one of those persons who preferred action to passiveness, this worked out quite well for him.

As he continued bailing, something white flashed across the periphery of his vision. A grisly sight greeted his eyes when he looked around to investigate. At the entrance to the bay was a large rock and hanging from the rock, swaying the breeze like grotesque pieces of laundry were the skeletal remains of three men. Jack dropped his bucket and stood up to get a better look. The ragged clothing that the skeletons were still dressed in showed that they had once been pirates.

'Poor lads.' He thought, taking off his hat, he placed it over his heart as a sign of respect. 'You probably deserved a better death.'

It was than that Jack spotted that there was a forth noose and the wooden sign which hung inside it. Scrawled in big, black letters read: **"PIRATES YE BE WARNED!" **

The skeletons and the sign together combined to say one thing: any n'er-do-well buccaneer that choose to dock here, had chosen the wrong berth to do so. Jack tipped two fingers to the sign, jauntily acknowledging the sign's message, before he continued o sail on into Port Royal.

In the harbor, shouting and yelling could be heard from all directions. Captains bellowed out orders, sailors scrambled to obey, many with grumblings and mutterings, no doubt still tired from a long night at the local taverns. Animals that were being loaded to the ships also added to the din as they loudly protested the undignified position that the slings put them in.

All noise and activity ceased for a minute, as more and more people became suddenly aware of what was coming into the bay. Many of the sailors gawked in open-mouthed amazement at what they were seeing, for it was certainly not a sight that one saw every day. There stood Jack Sparrow, regally perching atop the top-most point of the mast. He was as calm and unassuming as if the ship beneath him was sound and the water was far below him. The reality was quite simply that Jack's ship was sinking, and sinking rapidly. Still, he showed no sign that he was in potential danger.

Finally, the boat came to a rest against the dock with a gentle clunk. And, as if he had planned it like this all along, he stepped from the mast to the dock in one fluid motion. From the very moment that he made his entrance, one could tell that this was no ordinary seafarer; this opinion was only increased with the sight of him when he first stepped foot on land. His gait was entirely screwy, as though he had sent the last ten years on a ship, as though he was more accustomed to the feel of a ship beneath his feet than he was with land. Actually, many might have been surprised to find out just how true that belief was.

The harbor master was approaching, followed by a slave boy. Jack paid them no more attention than if they had been two flies. The harbor master did a quick double-take, not able to believe apparently that he could be so easily ignored. "Hey, hold up there, you."

Jack swore to himself silently. He had been so close. Turning he sauntered back to the harbor master. "It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock."

Jack raised his eyebrow. He and the harbor master turned to look at the boat, rather the mast, which was all that was left above the water, bobbing up and down like a plastic top. 'He can't be serious.' thought Jack, but one look at the harbor master's face confirmed that he was indeed serious.

"And I shall need to know your name."

Well, they couldn't have that. One look at his name would no doubt have the entire force of the British Navy on his heels within a matter of minutes. Jack was able to size what the situation needed in seconds. It may cost him a little more, but than again, he could always replenish his stock. Digging in his pocket, he dropped three silver coins onto the page of the book that the harbor master was carrying. "What do you say to three shillings," he said in his most charming voice, "and we forget the name?"

The harbor master looked first at the coins than at Jack. Jack waited, wondering if the man would call his bluff. After a few moments, the harbor master smiled at Jack congenially and said, "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith."

Jack put his hands together in a gesture of seemingly humble thanks. As the harbor master and his slave went to tend the boat (or tend to what remained of it above water), Jack turned to resume his penetration of the docks. He stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the harbor master's purse. It seemed like his fortune was looking up already.

Jack with all the smoothness of an experienced thief, picked up the purse, gave it a few experimental shakes and, satisfied by what he heard, swiftly pocketed it and continued on his way. No one had noticed this little slight of hand, and so none could have guessed that a pirate had landed in their midst. And little could this particular pirate have guessed that he was about to meet his match, in more way than one. However, there was one thing that was certain, even if only he himself was aware of it: Captain Jack Sparrow had landed at Port Royal.

* * *

As trouble was in the process of landing at Port Royal, at Fort Charles, the promotion ceremony of the man who was the scourge of piracy in the Caribbean was beginning. The crème de la crème of Port Royal society turned out for this grand event.

The fifes and drums were sounding in time with the soldier's footsteps on the gravel-covered courtyard of the fort. The marines of the Royal Navy were undoubtedly a fearsome sight, with their crisp red uniforms and sunlight reflecting off their sharpened bayonets. Each pace was exact, never falling out of step.

However, Emma wasn't really watching this part of the ceremony. She had seen enough of such marching figures to last her a lifetime. She and Elizabeth were standing with the rest of the spectators, which just happened to be in the full glare of the sun. Emma was sure that none of them were comfortable in the broiling heat, as fans were waving at a high rate of speed. This activity only made the heat worse in some ways, for without a breeze to give even a little relief, the fans were of little use. Emma may have been a bit better at hiding it than most, but even she was hard-pressed in this instance, to keep the heat at bay. Elizabeth, though, who was standing beside her, was fanning herself furiously, and seemed to be having difficulty breathing.

She was about to ask if Elizabeth was all right, when she heard the Sergeant begin to bark out orders to the Marines, who were now in place. Instantly, Emma forgot about Elizabeth, however unintentional the act might have been and focused her attention on the archway that was set into the wall at the far corner of the courtyard. When Captain, soon to be Commodore Norrington appeared, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding as the sea does upon the shore. The very sight of him was enough to almost make her lose control of her hidden feelings, which were undeniably strong.

It was generally acknowledged by all that James Norrington was a handsome man; the finely chiseled features, the noble bearing and the blue-grey eyes were enough to make almost any woman in Port Royal sigh and flutter their eyelashes at the Commodore should he ever happen to pass or even glance their way. But, none of them knew who the man was. The privilege of knowing the real James Norrington was one which few could boast of having, and Emma was one of those few. She knew what lay behind the austere mask that was almost always placed before his features. For some reason, he and Emma had become very good friends over the years and she knew that behind the stern, military commander was a man who loved music, poetry and good conversation as much as planning for campaigns on the water against piracy; perhaps, in some ways, he liked those simple gifts even more. Gradually, the feelings on her side had deepened into a love that ran so deep that it was all she could do sometimes to keep her real feelings from showing. But she never expected him to return these feelings. With all the most beautiful and young women in Port Royal throwing themselves at his feet, why should he care for a plain, old maid such as herself? It had been worse, though, these past six months as she had watched him court her sister. That was the worst pain of all.

For all her control, she couldn't stop her heart from hammering or the rush of blood that rose to her cheeks at the very sight of him. As he passed by where he and Elizabeth were standing, she had to look down, half-afraid that he would look her way and see all that she was trying to hide in her face.

It was almost a relief when she noticed that Elizabeth was squirming around in her dress, trying to find a position that was comfortable in an obviously uncomfortable situation. "Elizabeth," whispered Emma, softly, "are you all right?"

"What?" She said, trying to keep from gasping.

"You look a little short of breath."

Elizabeth attempted to give her sister a reassuring smile, but it came out resembling more a wince. "I'm fine." Emma gave her a skeptical look. "It's just that this corset is tighter than I'm used too. But I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Emma was still skeptical, but it was impossible to try and argue with Elizabeth. She could only hope that she would be all right.

By that time, the ceremony had reached its' conclusion. The newly promoted Commodore James Norrington turned and nodded to his fellow officers, than nodded to Governor Swann. He than faced the audience, which broke into applause. Port Royal had a new commander on the Royal Navy.

* * *

Captain Jack Sparrow had stayed mostly in the shadows after landing at Port Royal. He might have had the protection of a false name, Mr. Smith, given to him courtesy of the Harbor Master. But that didn't make him feel anymore secure in his present situation. After all, it's not as though he were a stranger to the law, indeed he was very well known, just in a rather unflattering way, and should he happen to run into any armed Marines they would most likely shoot him on sight before they thought of asking questions. Plus, land didn't suit him. He needed to get back out to sea, not just to avoid the noose, but to get his restless soul back to where it belonged.

The thing that was confusing him, though, was where exactly the Royal Navy's soldiers were. There were the regular beggars, townspeople, and merchants Jack would have expected to find, but the red-coated members of the Royal Navy were nowhere to be seen. That puzzled Jack, until he cast an eye at Fort Charles that watched over the entire harbor like a black-hooded monk. Jack wouldn't normally have found that to a very comforting sight, but today, the gaily flying pennants and the sound of fife and drum sounding the steady cadence of a march. Ah, so that was why there weren't any red coats lingering about on the docks, a high-toned, fancy to-do up at the fort. No doubt that was where all of the Marines were. Well, all the better for him. It would be all the easier for him to acquire his passage out of here.

Jack's eyes scanned the harbor and finally settled on the ship that he had seen coming into Port Royal. Her elegant bow and sails indicated a ship that would skim swiftly and dance lightly on the waves. Just what Jack was in the market for, as only a pirate could be in the market, or course. It was not the _Pearl_ by any means, but she would make for a good vessel.

Jack's heart wrenched as he remembered his beloved ship and the scum of a man who had thought fit to steal from him right from under his nose. On day, he vowed, as he had vowed many time before, Barbossa would pay, in blood. But, there were times to dwell on vengeance and there was a time to take advantage of what life was offering him, and Jack, ever one to live in the moment, would gladly take the opportunity that was before him. Burying darker impulses, he focused on what he did best, being sneaky.

Looking around him cautiously, Jack satisfied himself that no one was watching and than slipped away from the shadows and walked boldly towards the dock of the _H.M.S. Interceptor._

* * *

The gentle hum of conversation, underscored by the soft music of the group of musicians who were playing in the courtyard, provided the prefect atmosphere for mingling. Men talked politics, the ladies spoke of the latest fashion and scandal that was coming out of London. In private corners, prospective lovers chatted and flirted, paving the way in the future, for more intimate relations. It was the prefect atmosphere for mingling.

If one liked mingling; for Elizabeth Swann, there was nothing worse than that abhorred activity. These events were fine for her father and Emma who were more skilled at small talk and the social graces than she had ever been. Emma had always been better at etiquette than Elizabeth; she could always say the right thing at the right time, whereas Elizabeth's all too ready tongue had gotten her into trouble on more than one occasion. Elizabeth had learned that it was best to just smile, look pretty and avoid conversation as much as possible. She detested hiding who she really was, but it was the only thing that she could do. She loved her father and Emma to much to subject them to more headaches on her account that she could prevent.

She winced yet again, her corset seeming to tighten around her chest. That made it almost five times in the past hour. It felt like her lungs were being crushed. But this time, the sensation didn't pass as it had before. It stayed, and, if anything, increased.

Emma noticed her discomfort and way about to ask her about it, when she suddenly heard a shrill voice calling her name, "Yoo-hoo, Miss Swann, Miss Swann, over here."

'Prefect.' thought Emma, gritting her teeth, 'As if this day couldn't get any worse.'

She turned to see an enormously fat woman coming toward her, smiling and waving in a truly idiotic fashion. "Lady Bulveridge." She said, managing to hide her immense loathing of the woman behind her normally polite demeanor.

Lady Margaret Bulveridge was a rich widower who had arrived recently in the new world, after her husband's sudden death in England. Emma may have liked her more, had she shown even a hint of remorse for what had brought her to Port Royal in the first place. But Lady Bulveridge behaved more like a care-free young girl than a middle-aged widow. Moreover, Emma could hardly stand her incessant and insulting prattle. She may not have known that nearly every word that came out of her mouth offended Emma's sensibilities, nor did she know that while she pretended to know everything that there was to know about everything, in truth, she knew very little about anything at all. For some reason, she had singled out Emma as her chief confidant and said to everyone that she and the Governor's child were intimates, when Emma wanted nothing to do with her.

And here she came again, her brightly colored and expensive clothing clashing so badly that it made Emma's eyes hurt to look at her. "Ah, Miss Swann, there you are. I have been simply dying to see you. And, but of course, you have been dying to see me, I know. I'm sure you feared I wouldn't be able to find you, and I feared the same thing. What with all these people here (for there really are too many. I must ask where they all came from and who had the nerve to invite them all), it's nigh on impossible to find anybody. But, here I am, never fear and now we have all the afternoon to chat. Now, isn't that simply marvelous?"

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Lady Bulveridge kept right on talking. "This was such a lovely ceremony, wasn't it? Commodore Norrington looks so becoming in his uniform, don't you think so? He's come such a way, and from such humble beginnings. Why, I have heard that his father was a fisherman and his mother nothing more than a seamstress. How they ever managed to get their son the proper training for him to even reaches the rank of Lieutenant, much less a Commodore is truly a miracle."

Emma gritted her teeth together. "I do think that they managed quite well." That just showed how much that Lady Margaret knew of the new Commodore. His father had been a successful merchant and his mother had done her part to to raise her son with good morals and principles. He had hardly been destitute growing up, and his family had hardly been savages.

"Yes, of course they did. But, I must say, they must have had some help from outside sources." She was apparently unaware that what she was saying of Norrington was making Emma even more set against her. That 'outside source' to use her own words, had been a vicious attack and slaughter of his whole family by pirates. That had been the only reason that he gotten this far. That attack had left him with the thought that it was his duty to prevent others from having to go through the same painful experience. Lady Bulveridge, however, continued right on, totally oblivious. "Having come from such a background as that, it's truly astounding that he got anywhere at all. I tell you, the girl who will be catching him, will be a very lucky man." Lady Margaret looked in all direction sand dropped her voice, "I've been hearing it through several people that he's been looking at your sister. I've heard he might be proposing to her soon. Is there any truth to that you know of?"

Emma looked at her, trying to restrain herself from saying something completely rude. "Perhaps, madam, we might change the subject.'

Lady Bulveridge suddenly became aware for the first time of the fact that Elizabeth was standing right behind Emma and thinking that Emma's response had something to do with her desire not to say anything in front of her sister, she complied with the request. "Oh! Oh, yes of course, my dear. If I may say so, Miss Swann, it is truly marvelous the way that you make a habit of visiting the poor and the down-trodden of this city. I can honestly say that I give my full-hearted approval to such a practice."

"Do you, indeed?" said Emma, feeling as if she were about to get even more sick of this tiresome woman than she had previously been. "I'm very grateful, I'm sure."

"Oh, you are far to kind, Miss Swann. Showing charity, especially to this that is so below your station is so compassionately Christian. Can you imagine how honored the poor must feel so privileged that one such as you would bestow on them a little bit of the blessings that you have? There's nothing like a little charity work to give yourself a good name after all."

"Nothing at all." Growled Emma, who had to work hard too keep her growing anger in check. How dare this woman assume that her visits to the poor were mere shows of vanity, as if she expected to be rewarded for it. She did it because she happened to enjoy giving what she could, she had been giving a talent for giving to others, and there was no greater satisfaction for her than that. Besides, the people that she knew in the poorer quarters of Port Royal, she happened to like better than people like Lady Bulveridge. No doubt, if Lady Bulveridge knew that, she wouldn't take it as complement.

"I'm glad that we agree so readily on these things. Yes, it truly is a good way to gain respect and prestige in this world. You can't go wrong with charity work. Why I used to do the same thing in England before my husband died."

"Did you?" said Emma who suddenly had an image of Lady Bulveridge's massive frame handing a tiny portion of moldy bread out to a ragged family while she perched in her elaborate coach like a queen. The image wasn't at all flattering to Lady Bulveridge.

"Why yes. I have so many fond memories of the practice. Why, I remember the time..."

All at once, Emma couldn't hear what Lady Margaret was saying anymore. For, out of the corner of her eye, she saw James (Commodore Norrington she corrected herself hastily) approaching Elizabeth. "May I have a moment?" He asked her.

Emma, with a sinking heart, understood instantly what was about to happen. Suddenly, she actually wanted to listen to Lady Bulveridge's senseless talking. At least that wouldn't give her a broken heart. But, the wind was refusing to cooperate, and blew all the words that he said to Elizabeth clearly to her ear. "You look lovely, Elizabeth." A moment of silent followed this statement. Than he continued, obviously hesitant in his delivery, "I apologize if I seem forward, yet I must speak my mind. This promotion shows into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved: a marriage to a fine woman. You have become a fine woman, Elizabeth."

Emma blinked back tears. So it was true, James was proposing and it wasn't her that was receiving it, not her that was being asked the question that would have settled forever her own happiness. She felt herself torn between jealousy over Elizabeth and desire to be in her place. She didn't think that she would ever be able to be happy for Elizabeth when she so desperately wanted to James for herself.

"My dear," Lady Bulveridge's voice broke into Emma's thought, "are you all right? You've gone pale."

"Oh yes," said Emma, struggling to hide her emotions. She was _not_ going to give the rumor mongers of Port Royal anything to latch onto and create a story out of. "It's just the heat. Sometimes it gets to me more than other days."

"Oh yes. I can understand that. I've found that a spot of brandy is the best way to get rid of the heat. It chases sun stroke away as quickly as..."

"Elizabeth!"

The sharp cry of horror from behind her made Emma instantly forget about Lady Bulveridge. Turning, she saw Commodore Norrington looking over the parapet edge, where far bellow the ocean rolled and crashed against the high cliffs. Elizabeth was nowhere to be seen. Dread welled within Emma as she realized in an instant what had happened: the over tight corset that Elizabeth had been wearing had finally taken its' toll. She had fainted and had fallen over the parapet to her possible death on the rocks below.

* * *

Next Chapter: The medallion calls to the _Black Pearl_ and Jack rescues Elizabeth, before managing to pull of a pretty daring escape himself.


	4. Chapter 3: The Medallion Calls

Chapter 3: The Medallion Calls

Captain Jack Sparrow was in his element. He had finally managed to get his feet on the ship that had called to him from across the harbor, but it would be easier to sail the ship _out_ of the harbor once he would be able to get rid of two extra and unwanted passengers in front of him. However, he was in the process of luring them off. Captain Jack often said of himself that he could charm the fish out of the sea if given enough time. He was turning on the charm now, and it seemed to be working. The two Marines that were supposed to be guarding the ship from the likes of him had not only forgotten their former suspicion, but were also sitting enthralled as he regaled them with some of his stories from the high seas. Half of them weren't even true, but Jack was his own best advertiser. He often got more out of lying than telling the truth, and when he did tell the truth, it was often only as a last resort.

This latest story was one of the many versions about he had gotten off the island that he had been marooned on nearly ten years ago, with a few choice details thrown in about some cannibals that were from another story of another island. "...And than, they made me their chief."

He was just getting to the most exciting part when he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a splash off the port bow. Automatically, the three heads turned to see what had caused the disturbance. It way than Jack heard a cry issuing from the parapet of the fort above the water. As far as Jack could tell, someone named Elizabeth had just hit the water from above. Why she would want to do such a thing was beyond him and he wasn't sure if he would have been able to answer the question. Who knew what it was that women were thinking about when they did anything?

The two guards dashed over to the side of the ship. Jack followed, though at a decidedly slower pace. Whoever had dived off the parapet was rapidly sinking from view. If she wasn't rescued soon, she would drown. "Will you be saving her than?" Jack inquired, pointing a finger at the water.

"I can't swim." Said Mourtogg, who seemed half terrified at the idea of even getting his feet wet.

Jack grimaced and looked at Mourtogg's companion, the skinnier one named Mullroy. But Jack wouldn't be receiving any help from that quarter either. Mullroy looked even more terrified than Mourtogg, for the only answer he was able to give to Jacks' unspoken question, was a wordless shake of the head.

Now Jack had heard of everything: Fancy the Royal Navy recruiting officers who were afraid of the water. But Jack didn't have tome to contemplate the idiocies of the Royal Navy. He loathed heroism, but than again, far be it from him to turn down an opportunity that would get him some attention, and maybe some sort of reward into the bargain.

"Pride of the kings' navy you are." He muttered scathingly, as he removed his hat and sword. Shoving them unceremoniously into the startled guards' hands (they were just standing there, they might as well make themselves useful), he warned them, as he also added his pistol and coat to the pile. "Do lose these."

Jack didn't even look at the stunned expressions on their faces. He merely clambered up on the _Interceptor_'s rail, dove expertly into the water, and in the next moment, found himself surrounded by the murky, aquamarine depths of the sea.

* * *

Emma could hardly believe what had just happened. Elizabeth had fallen into the sea below them, a drop of nearly a hundred feet. If that hadn't killed her, than she would drown.

"Elizabeth." She whispered in horror as she rushed to the parapet and looked over the edge, thinking than she would be seeing Elizabeth's broken body on the rocks far below her. But instead, she saw ripples and white foam, which she met with somewhat mixed feelings. Elizabeth wasn't smashed on the rocks, but drowning would only delay the inevitable by a few minutes at most.

Norrington was just as horrified by what had happened as was Emma. He was taking off his coat, preparing to jump into the ocean after her, but Gillette, his second-in-command stopped him. "The rocks. Sir, it's a miracle she missed them."

Norrington looked down at the ocean, frustrated desperation plain on his face. Than without a second glance, he was gone, shouting at the surrounding marines to follow him down to the harbor at once.

Emma continued to stare at the ocean for a few moments longer. Her heart was racing with terror. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Elizabeth. Even if Norrington was in love with her, none of that mattered. Given the choice, she would rather have her sister alive and married to Norrington than face the prospect of never seeing her again.

A crowd was beginning to form around the parapet, the people attracted by the the commotion. Her father pushed his way through the crowd to reach her side. Governor Swann was panting, concern for Elizabeth's safety in his eyes. "Emma, what happened? How did she fall?"

"She said her corset was too tight, and she's been acting short of breath all morning. I think that she fainted before Commodore Norrington could do anything."

Her father drew in a deep breath and nodded, guiltily aware of the fact that the gift her had offered was in part to blame for what had happened. "Emma, stay here. I'll go and.."

"Father, I'm coming with you."

"Emma..."

"You can't honestly expect me to stay here and do nothing while my sister is in trouble. I'm going with you whether or not you want me too or not."

The Governor sighed and said, resignedly, "Very well. Come with me quickly."

The two followed after Commodore Norrington and his men, hoping that they would be able to reach the harbor before it was too late.

* * *

But, what no one was aware of was that it was already too late. Something was happening beneath the surface that nobody would have been able to understand had they obverse it.

As Elizabeth hit the surface and began to sink to the bottom of the sea, the ancient gold medallion that she had taken from around the neck of a young boy eight years before, managed to work itself loose from the bindings of her corset. The gold was in saltwater once again and in that one fateful moment, a pulsing shockwave moved out from the medallion to the surface, and raced across it to the far distant horizon.

It would have been impossible for Mourtogg and Mullroy, who were anxiously watching the water for any sign of the man and the woman who had fallen from the parapets of Fort Charles, to miss the strange ripple that passed over the water's surface. Mullroy looked at his companion in confusion, "What was that?" Mourtogg didn't have any ready answer to the question.

Suddenly, the two guards felt the wind pick up. They looked up, seeing the British flag that had been flying to the west, had changed directions, and was now facing due east. Grasping their hats to keep them from flying off, Mourtogg and Mullroy looked at each other once more, even more confused than they had been before. The weather had changed in an instant, and they couldn't understand why. They had certainly not, in all their years, ever seen such a drastic change, with no warning whatsoever.

This change, from fine day to overcast gloominess, was not only being felt at the docks, but all over the city of Port Royal. Window shutters banged in the sudden increased wind, dust began sweeping up in funnels. Animals, who often feel the supernatural workings of the world long before humans even know what is going on, started behaving strangely, as if they were being pursued by an unknown enemy. At Fort Charles, parasols were whipped away from the hands of unsuspecting ladies and those who tried to rush after them would find that their work would be in vain. Clouds began to march across the sky, turning it a dark, forbidding grey. Fog rolled into the harbor, turning the air cold and clammy that had before been warm and spring-like.

This whole change, from on state of weather to a completely opposite atmosphere, should have taken hours. But from the time Elizabeth fell into the water, to the time that Jack, unaware of what was happening above him, swam the last few feet to the bottom, picked up the still unconscious girl and began to swim to the surface, it had all occurred in less than five minutes.

No one could have known that this would happen, and no one could have understood what it meant, for no one, not even Elizabeth was aware of the dark power that lay behind the deceptive simplicity of this particular pirate medallion. It was part of an ancient and forgotten curse, still dangerous enough to snare unsuspecting souls to a fate worse than death. The pulse, where this whole transformation had begun, was the medallion calling to the men who had first taken it, and they had heard it and were turning sail to heed its' call.


	5. Chapter 5: A Sparrow Flies Free

Chapter 4: The Sparrow Flies Free

Jack clambered up onto the docks, the still unconscious girl slung over his shoulder. Both of them were sopping wet, though he had done her the favor of relieving her of that cumbersome dress, which he was certain, had been responsible for her sinking in the first place.

Mourtogg and Mullroy, who had come off the _Interceptor _when they had seen the silhouette of the man approaching the surface, immediately dropped their bayonets and between them, managed to haul the young woman off Jack and lay her down on the dock.

"She's not breathing!" said Mourtogg, in a panicked voice. Sure enough, her skin was cold and blue, her lungs unable to take in air.

Jack, climbing out of the water onto the dock, sized up the situation at once. "Move!" He said, urgently, pushing them out of the way. He grabbed Mullroy's dagger from it's' sheathe and knelt in front of the woman. In one smooth motion, he sliced the bindings of her corset, allowing her lungs to get in air. Probably for the first time that day.

The girl's eyes opened at once and she began coughing up seawater and gasping for breath. Why women even bothered to wear those whalebone jail cells around the most crucial parts of their body, and all in the name of fashion, was something that Jack had never been able to understand. In his mind there were other, better ways to look attractive, and in his experience, the most attractive women he had seen hadn't been wearing anything at all.

He pushed the corset into Mullroy's hands. The guard was apparently rather mortified to be holding a piece of a lady's undergarment.

"Never would have thought of that." said Mourtogg.

'Of course not.' Thought Jack, but he only said, "Clearly you've never been to Singapore."

He turned his eyes back to the girl, who had emptied her lungs of seawater and was now concentrating on breathing. She didn't appear to be injured, which meant that maybe his little foray into the realm of heroism would be worth it after all. She was obviously rich, if her dress (which was now lying at the bottom of the sea) was anything to be believed. This girl could very well be his way out of here if he...

Suddenly, all thought of getting rich fast were pushed from his mind, when he saw the flash of gold around the girl's neck. He hadn't noticed it before, except for the dull glint that had been visible under the waves' murky depths. Now onshore, and in better light, he was able to look on the design of the medallion, and he was shocked went he saw the skull surrounded by grotesque Aztec symbols. Only once had he ever seen such alternately frightening and entrancing designs etched on such a medallion. As he picked it up and looked at it, he knew there was only one thing that could produce that strange buzzing sensation in the mind and tingling in the skin. He recognized it from the story he had heard long time ago, of a treasure that was beyond all imagining, and yet, it had not been kind which he had imagined. It was a story that he now regretted ever hearing, and a quest he had regretted taking even more.

But, the question that baffled him at the moment was, how had a gentlewoman like this one come into possession of a cursed treasure? Surely, she hadn't taken it from the actual chest. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been in danger in drowning. So, where had she gotten it?

"Where did you get that?" He asked, his voice filled with shock and surprise.

So focused was he on the medallion, that he didn't hear the sound of a blade being drawn from its' sheathe until it was too late. Before he could react, there was a sword in his face, poised for the kill, and a cold, clipped military voice grated against his ears. "On your feet." It was only then that Jack knew he had been caught. He glanced above him meeting the stern eyes of the military officer who held the sword to his throat, danger clear in his face. He was quickly surrounded by Marines of the Royal Navy, making escape pretty much out of the question. This was a fight he couldn't win. The officer's eyes singled him out as a man who wouldn't take nonsense from anyone, a stickler for the rules, and what was worse, a man of honor; exactly the kind of man that Jack hated dealing with, because he knew that he would never be able to get out of this situation by foul means, which is how he got out of most sticky situations such as this.

The Commodore himself had been shocked to see that Elizabeth had already been rescued when he had arrived at the docks. He had seen the two officers, Mourtogg and Mullroy, and he knew them both to be bumbling and none too bright. He also knew that they couldn't swim. So, he knew that they couldn't have rescued Elizabeth, even if they had wanted too. It had actually been the man that he was now threatening with his sword that had most captured his attention, as well as his concern. His clothing was the exact opposite of the crisp red uniforms of the Marines. They were dirty and unkempt, a look his entire appearance seemed to be copying. Hi hair was long, braided and tied with odd trinkets and jewels. Something about the stranger made put him on edge, for he seemed to match the description of a certain fugitive that the East India Trading Company and the Royal Navy had been tracking for months, years actually. But the last sighting of him had been in the South China Sea; what was he doing here?

Jack got tentatively to his feet, being careful to make no sudden moves. No sense in making them shoot him before they condemned him to the gallows. The noose didn't offer much chance of escape. In this present situation, well, one never knew.

The rest of Elizabeth's erstwhile rescuers arrived on the scene at last, among them the Governor and Emma. Governor Swann was huffing and puffing, not accustomed to running any great distance, let alone all the way down to the docks from the fort. He too was surprised to see that Elizabeth had been stripped down to her undergarments. Emma, who had better stamina than her father, was relieved to see that her sister was safe and sound, regardless of how she looked.

"Oh, Elizabeth." She said, gratefully embracing Elizabeth, "Thank God you're safe."

"Elizabeth." said the Governor, not far behind her now that he could see that Elizabeth was safe. "Are you all right?" Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around her to shield from any prying eyes that might be in the vicinity, as well as from the sudden cold that had crept in around Port Royal.

Elizabeth was grateful for their help, but could hardly keep her teeth from chattering as she replied breathlessly, "Yes, yes, I'm fine."

The Governor looked over at the man who had rescued his daughter, seeing him for the first time. He also saw that Mullroy was holding her corset. When he saw the Governor staring at him, the hapless Mullroy instantly dropped the offending article and pointed at Jack, as if to say that it was all his fault. Jack couldn't help but think that Mullroy was giving him no help at all. Either way, the Governor didn't like the look of the stranger, probably for the same reason that Norrington hadn't.

"Shoot him!" He ordered without much preamble.

"Father." Elizabeth stopped her father, before speaking to the Commodore. "Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"

The Commodore looked first at Elizabeth, than at Jack, before nodding slowly. He sheathed his sword. The guns which had been pointing threateningly at Jack were lifted.

Jack was beginning to feel more confidant about this situation. Perhaps he could get out of this without being shot or hung. He nodded his "humble" thanks to Elizabeth for her intervention and stopped when he caught his first sight of the woman that had her arm wrapped protectively around Elizabeth's shoulders. Her eyes, when they met his own for a split second seemed to be able to bore into his very soul, which didn't make him entirely comfortable. Emma's gift of being able to judge the character of a person had shown itself at that instant, and Emma had already determined that whoever this man was, death was probably not one of the things he deserved, and she resolved that she would see that it didn't come to that.

James held out his hand and said, "I believe thanks are in order."

Jack looked at the proffered hand with apprehension. There might not be any guns or swords being pointed at him anymore, but there was still a good chance of him being caught. However if he declined, things could get even uglier. He finally took Norrington's hand in a tentative manner. He immediately wished that he hadn't. Like steel jaws of a trap snapping shut, Norrington's hand tightened over Jack's hand. Jerking the man toward him, he exposed the large **_P_** that was branded into the flesh of Jack's right arm. Norrington's suspicions had been right; the man who had rescued Elizabeth was indeed a pirate. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, Pirate?" His eyes came and stared at Jack, triumph and accusation apparent in his voice.

The realization sent a wave of shock through the company of people assembled on the dock, but it didn't make the silence last long. Swann's hold on his daughter tightened a fraction, as he said dangerously, "Hang Him!"

Norrington's demeanor didn't budge a fraction as he called out orders to his men. "Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch him some irons."

The guns which had been lifted only so recently, now dropped back into the firing position, aiming directly at Jack's head. Jack winced, so much for being able to get out of the situation. It would have been better for him if he had let the girl drown.

Norrington was still holding Jack's hand in a grip of iron. He saw the outline of a tattoo above the pirate brand and raising Jack's sleeve, he saw the depiction of a sparrow, highlighted by a setting sun, flying over the ocean. Norrington knew that symbol, he had seen it once before, in his younger days of fighting pirates, and had heard of it any number of times from other sources. "Well, well, Jack Sparrow isn't it?" He said, as he dropped Jack's hand, making no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please." replied Jack, sheepishly. He had to try to salvage some scrap of dignity from the definitely undignified position he had more or less walked into on his own.

Norrington turned from the pirate to give the bay a cursory inspection. He saw nothing that even resembled a pirate ship. "Well, I don't see your ship, 'Captain'?" That last word was said sneeringly as if the man didn't think you could be a captain unless you had a ship to your name.

Jack smirked, "I'm in the market, as it were." He responded, the devilish gleam evident in his eyes now that he didn't have to try and hide it.

"He said he'd come to commandeer one." said Mullroy.

"Told you he was telling the truth." said Mourtogg, than hoping to garner favor with his superiors, he picked up the pistol, compass and the various other paraphernalia that Jack had shoved into their arms when he had dived into the sea to fish Elizabeth out of the water's embrace. "These are his, sir."

Norrington picked up each of the items in turn, commenting on their less than stellar state of being.

The pistol was first; it might have, at one time, been a fine weapon once, but years of rust and water damage had aged it considerably. It looked as if this pirate had been carrying it around for the last ten years. "No additional shots nor powder." The compass was even worse than the pistol. "A compass that doesn't point north." Norrington looked at Jack as he would one who was a complete lunatic. He withdrew the sword from the sheath and his whole opinion of Jack was confirmed. "And I half expected it to be made of wood." He pushed the sword back into it's sheathe and regarded Jack. There wasn't much in the man standing before him to support the legend that was notorious throughout the entire Caribbean. From where he stood, it was a miracle Jack Sparrow hadn't died, gotten lost or already been arrested long ago. "You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of.

That didn't seem to faze Jack in the least. "But you have heard of me." He said, impudently.

Norrington looked at the pirate for a moment, and realized that folly of what he was doing. Why was he standing here bandying words with this pirate and wasting time when there were other things to be done? Possibly he didn't want to admit that Jack had got the better of him this time. Grabbing Jack roughly by the arm, he hauled him to the side of the dock where Gillette had just arrived with the chains that would be able to keep the wily pirate from trying to escape.

Elizabeth, while she may have just been dropped from the heights of Fort Charles into the depths of the ocean, certainly hadn't what many believed to be her unladylike habits, outspokenness being one of them. "Commodore, I really must protest." She said, shrugging off the coat and overprotective presence of her father. She moved with the rest of the group and positioned herself between Jack and Norrington, almost as if she intended to save Jack from his impending judgment with her own body and words.

Norrington might have listened to Elizabeth in any other situation, but there were some things that his sense of duty wouldn't permit him to budge on. Though he would have liked to do something that would make her think well of him, this was something that had to be done. So instead of answering Elizabeth directly, he said to Gillette who was securing Jack tightly in the wrist chains. "Carefully, Lieutenant."

Elizabeth, however, would not be ignored. "Pirate or not, this man saved my life."

"She's right." said Emma, speaking up for the first time.

Governor Swann stared at Emma, dumbfounded that his normally moral and upright eldest daughter had spoken up for someone like the man standing before them who had committed any number of crimes. "Emma," he stammered, "I don't think that you understand the seriousness of-"

"I understand perfectly, father, and under normal circumstances my opinion might be different, but these are hardly normal circumstances. He saved my sister's life when he could have done nothing. Surely that must count for something." She turned to Norrington, "Please, Commodore, I would ask you to reconsider your decision."

Norrington gazed at Emma for a moment, and his face inexplicably softened. Emma was a good friend and he ordinarily would have done anything that she asked of him within the bounds of reason, but he had no choice. "I'm sorry, Emma, but one good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."

"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Jack piped up once more.

The veneer of cold austereness dropped over James' features once more as he glared at the cheeky pirate. "Indeed."

It seemed to be a lost cause for Jack, but there was something about this pirate that Norrington was unaware of, it was the secret of what made him such a good pirate: When times were bleakest, those were the times when fertile, cunning mind of Jack Sparrow began working at the swiftest and most brilliant speed. During this whole time, he had been considering every available option and plan that could even be remotely open it him, rejecting the ones that were impossible, modifying and tweaking the ones that just might be workable. He did all of it within the space of the few seconds that he had. Making split second decisions was an important skill for any captain to have. That had been one lesson he ad learned through bitter experience.

This situation was a challenge (getting out of any situation where a dozen bayonets are being aimed at your head would have been a challenge for anyone), but it also required a simple understanding of human nature. Fortunately for Jack, that was something else that he had. Sometimes, when confronted by a man as honorable as Norrington, where bribes couldn't work, sometimes a well-placed threat could make all the difference. Norrington's weakness was in the two women who had spoken up in his defense. Perhaps if one of them were in danger, the stiff commodore would be more willing to play to his tune.

The chains clicked into place, effectively locking Jack into place, but nothing could keep him restrained for long, as those gathered around him were about to find out. "Oh, well finally."

Before Elizabeth could react to the note of danger that she heard in his voice, Jack had the chains wrapped around her neck, the cold steel pressing her into her throat like the sharp kiss of a dagger. She gasped in shock and fright, to stunned to move or struggle, which would have made her situation all the worse. All he would have to do was tighten the chains and it wouldn't be too long before her throat was crushed.

The marines had instantly lowered their bayonets to aim at Jack, but Elizabeth was now truly an effective shield, they couldn't shoot him without shooting her. "No, no. Don't shoot. Don't shoot." Governor Swann shouted at the marines, the worry and fear for his daughter all to plain to see.

Jack smiled triumphantly; he loved it when everything went according to plan. "I knew you'd warm up." Turning to the Commodore, his voice took on a threatening tone, "Commodore Norrington my effects, please. And my hat."

Norrington hesitated. He wanted to catch Sparrow, but at the same time he didn't want to put Elizabeth's life in danger. "Commodore." Jack hinted in no small terms that he wasn't deciding fast enough.

Emma looked at James, "Commodore, this is no time for heroics."

"Well spoken, luv." said Jack, "You obviously care a great deal for your sister. It certainly would be a shame to see such wonderful care and devotion turn into mournin' for a funeral, which is how this little scenario will end if your Commodore friend doesn't act _very _soon."

Any other woman might have burst out crying, pleaded or started screaming curses at Jack, no doubt calling him (among other things), a cad, a villain and a retch, all of which Jack was, so it would have made little difference. However, Emma merely stared at Jack in that same penetrating way; it had unnerved Jack before but he was prepared for it this time. Emma stared at him hard for a long time, than she turned to Mourtogg. "Give him what he wants."

Mourtogg looked at her in open-mouthed shock. He was obviously unsure how to react to orders given by a woman. "But, I..."

"I said, give him what he wants." said Emma, more forcefully than before.

Mourtogg looked at Norrington for confirmation and the Commodore in answer nodded and began taking the filthy items from Mourtogg's arms. As much as he hated to surrender in this fashion, Elizabeth was more important at this moment than the capture of Jack Sparrow.

Jack, meanwhile, whispered softly in Elizabeth's ear. "Elizabeth, it is Elizabeth isn't it?"

Elizabeth had gotten over her initial fear and was now panting with ill-concealed anger. This wasn't the dashing cavalier that all the legends made him out to be. The Jack Sparrow she had read about wouldn't have stooped to such base tricks as this, and he certainly wasn't a gentleman of fortune. In fact, he was a... Several thoughts marched across Elizabeth's mind at that moment, many of them to ghastly to repeat, and not any that a well-born lady should have been thinking. "It's Miss Swann." Was her hissed reply through tightly clenched teeth.

Well, the girl had spunk, Jack had to give her that. She wasn't screaming or throwing a fit, which was all the more convenient for him since he could hold onto her easier when she was rigid with rage. And since she so insisted on being formal, he would reciprocate. "Miss Swann, if you'd be so kind." Norrington had managed to get all of his effects from Mourtogg and was now standing uncertain if he should give them back to Jack, "Come, come, dear we don't have all day." Prompted Jack and Norrington had no choice but to hand Elizabeth them to Elizabeth. Instantly, almost swifter than the eye could catch, Jack plucked the pistol from the pile and had the barrel shoved against Elizabeth's head. Turning her around to face him, he asked, "Now if you'll be very kind."

Elizabeth balked for a moment, not wanting to get any closer to the man than she had come already. But the nudge of the pistol against her skull sort of resolved any feelings of disgust that she might have had.

Still fuming and visibly shaking from an emotion far beyond fear, she put the greasy hat on Jack's head and the compass into his belt. The sword was the most difficult and as it turned out, the most awkward for Elizabeth to execute. It required that she got chest to chest with Jack, and put her arms around him so that she could hook the belt on her shoulder. This she found absolutely detestable, but seemed to amuse Jack no end. He might as well enjoy what he could of the situation he was in. "Easy on the goods, Darling."

"You're despicable." said Elizabeth coldly, as she finished.

"Sticks and stones, luv." He replied, showing no sign that her words had pierced him in any way. "I saved your life, you saved mine, we're square." Turning her around, he began backing away from the assembled group of uniformed marines and Elizabeth's anxious family. They followed cautious and anxious. What more would Jack do to her?

"Gentlemen," began Jack, than whispered in Elizabeth's ear once more, "My lady," He had worn out his welcome, but that was just fine, he was ready to leave anyway. "This is the day you will always remember as the day that you _almost_ caught," The chains lifted over Elizabeth's head as Jack proclaimed triumphantly, "Captain Jack Sparrow!" He shoved Elizabeth into the arms of the Commodore, a favor that he should be thanked for since the Commodore was obviously to stiff and proper to ever touch her in anyway while they were in public.

Elizabeth's being catapulted into the middle of the knot of people naturally made a commotion. It was only a few seconds, but those few seconds were all that Jack needed to make his move He had already shoved the pistol back into his sash , Jack turned to the crane, which he had noticed earlier in the day. It had been in the process of loading a new cannon unto the _Interceptor. _Behind him, the tangle of men and two women were beginning to come back to something that remotely resembled order. But Jack was already away. Grabbing the crane's rope, he kicked the latch free of the counterweight. The cannon, still high over the docks and not nearly in the position that it was supposed to be in, plummeted like a stone toward the docks and as the cannon went down, Jack went up.

The cannon crashed into the dock, smashing the wood as easily as if the dock had been made of matchsticks. Some of the marines tried to catch Jack's feet as made the flight up, and they only succeeded in falling through the planks and into the water below. It would have been impossible to stop Jack anyway, he had already escaped.

Down below, Norrington, Elizabeth and the rest all watched in shock as the pirate streaked up to the beam, not only managing to hold onto the rope but, through a feat of near superhuman skill and dexterity, grab hold of another rope that was attached to top of the crane. The weight of his body was enough to start the crane spinning in crazy circles, and since Jack was more or less attached to the rope with a death grip, he went along for the ride.

Boy, what a ride for Jack. If it hadn't been for all those storms at sea, he would have gotten sick. Nonetheless, the speed with which the crane was turning made him scream in surprise and he had to truthfully admit to himself that he wouldn't be averse to leaving this little adventure behind him. He was also aware of the fact that even if a moving target was a little harder to hit, it wouldn't be long before the marines managed to get a bearing on him and than they wouldn't hesitate to shoot him out of the sky.

Below him, he heard the Commodore ordering his men to open fire. A first, second, than a third volley ripped through the air, some of the bullets came so close that he was able to feel the hum of them as they went past. His good fortune would last only so long. Desperately he looked around him and saw another crane further up the dock. It would be a long shot, but it was a chance he had to take.

He swung out harder on the rope, causing his speed to build up. Holding his breath, he sensed just the right moment, and praying that the luck which had kept alive all these years would stay with him now, he leapt.

Emma was as surprised as anyone when Jack Sparrow pushed Elizabeth into Norrington's arms and even more surprised at his impressive escape. It struck her as odd, however, that she was relieved when none of the bullets that were shot missed him. When he let go of the rope, landing on the beam of a crane that was further up the dock, his arms and legs pin-wheeling to try and keep his balance, she hoped that he wouldn't fall.

Norrington didn't share her sympathies. "On his heels!" He shouted, when it became evident that Jack wouldn't be falling. The marines, led by Norrington, stampeded up the sloping ramp to the main docks, where they would be able to get a clearer shot of Sparrow. He left behind Emma, Elizabeth and Governor Swann. Emma raced after Norrington, Swann and Elizabeth following her closely.

She got there just in time to see the rapidly vanishing back of Jack Sparrow as he ran over the bridge and disappeared into the streets and alleyways of Port Royal.

"Gillette," Emma overheard James say to his second-in-command, "Mr. Sparrow has a dawn appointment with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it."

Gillette took no time to tarry. He was, like Norrington, a man of the law; he was just as eager to capture the slippery Jack Sparrow as his superior was. Nodding to a group of marines, they fell in behind him and dog-trotted in the direction that Jack had taken.

Norrington turned to Elizabeth and Swann, both of whom had just made it up the ramp. "Are you all right, Elizabeth?"

"Yes." said Elizabeth, a bit sharply, as she was in no mood to be fawned over at the moment.

Norrington was a bit taken aback by her sharp tone, but he understood. Considering what she had gone through, she had the right to feel anyway she wanted. He turned to Governor Swann. "My men will block off all entrances into the city and we'll be combing the streets. There are only so many places that he can hide. We'll hunt him down, Governor, I promise you.

"Good, Commodore. I have every confidence in your abilities. I'm sure that you'll bring him justice before the day is through."

Norrington nodded and began to give orders to his men. Meanwhile, Swann tucked his coat a little tighter around Elizabeth. "Here, my dear, you had better keep this on." He was relieved that she was all right, but he was also worried that she be kept warm. The previous warm air of the morning had been replaced with cold, clammy air that seemed to hang upon everything and suck the heat from whatever surface it came into contact with, including Elizabeth's skin. Especially in her case, what with having been nearly drowned in the ocean, it was imperative that he get her home at once, before she caught a severe chill. "Come, Emma. Commodore Norrington has everything under control. He will catch the villain who did this. We should get Elizabeth home."

Emma nodded distractedly. Her father would have been shocked if he had known what she was thinking, as would have Norrington. Normally, she was in agreement with Norrington on most things. However, this time, she had to admit that she had a completely different opinion of Jack Sparrow than either Norrington or her father had. For some strange reason that she couldn't explain, she felt sympathetic to a man who had threatened her sister and was a well-known thief and pirate. Such a man should have earned her enmity, not her sympathy. However, her uncanny ability to tell what a person was in a single glance had convinced that Jack Sparrow was no ordinary pirate. He had a good soul, despite his somewhat questionable trade. Somehow, she felt that death was the last punishment he deserved.

And so, it was with complete sincerity that Emma wished Jack Sparrow luck and that he would live to fly free once more.


	6. Chapter 6: Blades Crossed

Here is the next chapter of Pirates of the Caribbean. In this chapter, we finally get the fist meeting between Marie and Jack. I hope everyone enjoys this. Once again, I own nothing.

Chapter Five: Blades Crossed

Something was afoot in Port Royal. Marie sensed it as soon as she and her brother entered the main city. Marines, bayonets at the ready were in more abundance than normal, dog-trotting around the streets, splitting off in two's and three's to search the darkened alleyways, dead-end cul-de-sacs, and empty buildings. It seemed to Marie that they were looking for someone.

When she said as much to Will, her brother replied, "It doesn't concern us directly. It's best to stay out of their way. You know how irate they can be when they feel that someone is getting in the way of their mission."

Marie considered that a sensible option. She held the Port Royal Marines in good-natured contempt, thinking them to be a rather boring and dull bunch, and she had no wish to get involved with whatever it was they were doing during such a nice morning. However, this attitude lasted only as long as they were ignorant of who it was that the Marines were searching for.

Gossip could travel faster than the speed of sound in Port Royal and that proved to be true in this case. Apparently, Elizabeth Swann had been involved in an incident. She had fallen over the side of the fort, only to be rescued by an infamous pirate. That same pirate had then threatened Elizabeth order to escape from the Marines. He had succeeded and was now at large in the city of Port Royal.

Will's earlier resolve of staying out of it unfortunately fled him when he heard the news. "Will, relax." said Marie, "There are only so many places to hide in Port Royal. I'm sure that the Marines will be able find this pirate, whoever he may be. They'll catch him and hang him by tomorrow."

"I'd like to get my hands around his throat." growled Will, through gritted teeth.

Marie cast her brother a side-long glance. "Take my advice, Will and bury that defensive honor streak of yours. It won't do you any good in this present instance, not that it ever has in any other circumstance. We won't even be seeing him, much less fighting him. Let Commodore Norrington and his men handle this. For all that they're Navy Men, they seem to know what they're doing, at least, most of the time."

"Perhaps." said Will, though it was clear that he didn't like acquiescing to the situation without a fight.

Marie only rolled her eyes. She loved Will, but he could sometimes act so much like a soldier that it was irritating to even be around him.

They finally made it to the blacksmiths' shop, where they had been apprenticed for the last eight years. Granted, it was officially Will who was apprenticed to Jeremiah Brown, but Marie did more than her fair share of the work and sweat that the forge required. Her work was not by any means as fine as Will's, but even she knew that she was better than Mr. Brown, the supposed owner of the blacksmith shop, but who had spent the better part of the last two years in a drunken stupor and never seemed to think about anything that was related to the work, or much of anything else for that matter.

As soon as they stepped into the smithy's semi-darkness, they both knew that something was wrong. Machinery was clanking and groaning, and the mule that they used to work the gears was running around in circles, eyes rolling and flanks heaving. The poor animal seemed to be trying to run away from something horrible, only there was nothing in the forge for it to run away from. She and Will jumped off the ledge and rushed over to him. They manage to get him calmed down, but Marie thought it string that he should be behaving in such a frantic manner. He was normally quite a placid animal.

Once she and Will had accomplished that little task, their minds began turning to the work of the day. The heat in the forge was stifling, forcing both Will and Mari to shed their outer coats. As Will was unbuttoning his vest, he saw Mr. Brown, the presumed owner of the smithy where Will and Marie did most of the actual work. He was stone drunk, through and through. He hadn't practiced restraint the night before that much was obvious.

"Right where I left you." Will said, smirking good-humouredly.

"Surprised?" asked Marie.

Will grinned in response. However, that smile soon faded from his mouth when his eyes fell upon the anvil beside the forge a few feet away from were he stood. A small hammer lay across the anvil, a hammer that he was certain hadn't been there before. That might not have set any other person on edge, but for someone as neat and organized as Will, that one small hammer out of place was enough to make him suspicious. "Not where I left you." He said softly, as his brow furrowed in confusion.

Marie, who hadn't heard him as her back was turned away from him, began to ask a question as she turned to face him: "Will, should we start with the-" But she didn't get the chance to finish the question, for as soon as she turned around she thought she saw something moving in the shadows behind Will. She blinked. It was gone again. Marie wondered for a split-second if the bright sunlight slanting into the forge combined with the gloomy shadows had played a trick on her.

But before she could say anything, Will's attention was drawn to the hat that was hanging on the anvil. He reached for it. Marie suddenly saw the shadow moving again, and this time, she was certain that it was no illusion. However, before she could give any sort of warning, just as Will's hand was about to brush the leather, the blade of a sword that seemed to come from nowhere slapped down on his wrist, thus making any warning unnecessary.

Will froze, and slowly turned his head to see who was wielding the sword. Though the man was hidden in shadow, there was no mistaking that he was the pirate the Navy was looking for.

"You're the one they're hunting." He said, his voice turning suddenly turned cold. "The pirate."

Jack had been sure from the start that he would be able to wiggle out of this. It was a pity that he would have to be leaving. He had at first thought, from his place in the shadows, that one of the boys was actually a woman, a very pretty woman, made even more attractive by the fact that she was wearing breeches instead of the normal dress. Had this been any other time in any other place, he might have wanted to go a few rounds with her, but as it was, that would be one pleasure he would have to forgo.

However, now that he could see both of them clearly, he couldn't deny that there was something very familiar about the boy and even to some extent the girl. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly; could it be that the boy was staring at him without any trace of fear? The girl who looked as if she were ready for anything? The way that both of their eyes shone with determination and stubbornness? Yes, they were certainly familiar.

"You seem somewhat familiar, have I threatened you before?" Jack queried, and than he turned his gaze on the girl, trying to get a better look at her as much to confirm his thought as to enjoy the view, "And you, haven't I tried to seduce you once?"

Marie was frankly insulted by this question. For all that she may have been unconventional (downright radical depending on how you asked), she was not a loose woman whose affections sold for one night to the highest bidder. Many men had tried to get into her bed by using those grounds, but they had learned to regret it. Marie wasn't very fond of the male race. All of them, her brother excluded, had always struck her as everything from dull and stupid to arrogant and boring. There were any number of adjectives in between these two extremes, none of them in the least flattering. It seemed to Marie that this one was going to be no different.

"I would remember you if you tried to seduce me." She said coolly, and before he could take such a statement as a flattering comment, she swiftly added, "I would remember a man who would never have the capability to do anything with a woman ever again after I had relieved him of his talents for being able to do so." Her eyes had begun to take on the dangerous color of a green sea that was roiling before a storm. It wouldn't be long before the storm broke.

"And besides," said Will, who moved to hide his sister from the lustful eyeing of the pirate, "We've both made it a point to avoid familiarity with pirates."

There was a deep hatred in the boys' voce, a hatred that Jack wasn't sure he wanted to experience anymore than was necessary. So, he decided that on that line, he would make a grateful exit. "Ah, than it would be a shame to put a black mark on either of your records, so if you'll excuse me..."

He tuned away from them for an instant to grab his hat. And in that instant, Marie, who had been easing slowly toward the sword rack, moved like greased lightening and snatched up two swords. "Will." She shouted and tossed one to her brother, before brandishing one expertly herself.

Jack suddenly found that their positions had been reversed; now he was the one with a sword pointed at him. He looked the boy up and down with a critical eye. If his swordplay was anything like his stance, than Jack knew he could potentially be in trouble, and what with the whole of the Royal Navy after him, he didn't want to waste anymore time. "You think this wise, boy? Crossing blades with a pirate?"

In answer, Will leveled his sword at Jack and replied in a voice of ice, "You threatened Miss Swann."

Ah, that explained why this youth was trying so hard to fight him. He was playing hero for a woman who probably didn't even know his name. He wondered if they had even ever met, or is this whelp was just some sort of admirer from afar? Either way, he seemed intent on avenging the honor of Miss Swann that he, the evil pirate, had dastardly wounded. Was the boy brave or just plain stupid? Right now, Jack was opting for the latter. And than there was the girl, there was certainly a lot of temptation from that quarter for him to give the boy the fight that he wanted. There could be no telling just how close combat would bring them physically together. She seemed to be just as determine as her brother to have showdown, though what she could possibly hope to gain by it, he had no idea. Perhaps, it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to teach this young whelp what a bother honor could be.

Bringing his sword up to caress the blade of will's own sword, Jack created a sound that was not unlike the sharpest dagger slicing smoothly through the finest silk. The gleam in Jack's eye gave every indication that he knew exactly hat he had done to Miss Swann, and far from regretting it, he was proud of it. "Only a little." And with no more warning than that, Jack Sparrow attacked.

Will met his attack with no trouble at all, matching him parry for parry and thrust for thrust. It didn't ace Jack long to know that he had met his match. As for the girl, she seemed to stay in the background, watching the fight with a keen and unwavering gaze that missed nothing of the fight, despite the fact that it was going at lightening speed. She seemed so in tune with her brother that she actually was mirroring his movements. The reason why she wasn't joining the fight directly was apparent to Jack. With her, there would be one too many. She had the confidence that the boy could handle it.

And unfortunately, that assessment was correct. "You know what you're doing, I'll give you that." Jack conceded during a lull in the fight, "Excellent form." He crossed blades with Will again. "But how's your footwork." He took a step to the right, his opponent stepping in the opposite direction. "If I step here-" They exchanged a few more blows. "Very good! And now I step again." Jack stepped once more and dealt the boy a few more blows, and continued to do so until they were exactly opposite their initial positions, which meant that Jack was just in the right place to make his escape.

"Ta!" said Jack in terms of farewell to the boy, before turning and heading for the door. He was a little surprised that the girl made no move to stop him, but he figured that she was must have been one of those women who talked a lot, but when it came down to it, she wouldn't want to do anything that might spoil her good looks.

But unfortunately for Jack, he was about to find out that he had underestimated his two young opponents. Will, who had reacted to being duped with angry surprise, suddenly reared back and with a vicious overhand motion, threw his sword at the door. Marie had seen this before, knew what was coming and had wisely stepped out of the way.

The sword flew straight and true, burying itself in the door just above the bar that locked the closed doors. It had barely missed Jack. Jack looked at the still twanging sword, than back at Will. If he wasn't mistaken, he was looking rather pleased with himself and she was smirking. Jack grabbed hold of the hilt of the sword, trying to pull it out of the wood. That didn't work. He than tried to open the door. That didn't work either.

Turning back to them, he looked first at Will, than at Marie, "You knew he was going to do that, didn't you?"

Marie shrugged. "And you didn't. I'm surprised. If you were a real pirate, you should have known better than to turn your back on an enemy."

"I must admit," said Jack, turning his attention back to Will, and going down the cart that was positioned near the door. "That is a wonderful trick. Except once again you are between me and my way out." He was advancing on Will, and it was clear that his goal for escape now lay at the back door. "And now, you have no weapon."

"But I do." said Marie, stepping smoothly into the fight and holding her sword up to the throat of the pirate.

Jack had passed Marie on his way to threaten Will, and he hadn't expected this move. But still, he had experience in situations like this. Turning to scrutinize Marie, he knocked aside her blade with his own sword. "Now, now, darlin', leave this matter between the two of us."

He made a move to go forward, but she moved just as fast as she had earlier. Shifting position, she had the blade at his throat again and she forced him to turn her way. "If you want to go through my brother to escape, than you will have to go through me first."

For the first time, much to Marie's satisfaction, Jack didn't look so cocky. "I'm afraid, luv, that I don't have time to give the proper instruction."

Marie scoffed and assumed an expert en garde stance, "As luck would have it for both of us, I have been given the proper instruction since I was seven."

It was at that point that Jack began to suspect that he had underestimated this woman. Not only did she know how to move, she knew how to move with a sword. And it only took a few passes to know that she did indeed know what she was doing. In fact, Jack had to admit that she was as good as her brother.

And then, as if what he was dealing with wasn't bad enough, he soon realized that he had double trouble on his hands. Fighting with the girl had distracted him from her brother, who had snatched another sword up from the forge, and now came after Jack with a sword that had a red hot point. As if the mule remembered some unpleasant event, it emitted a grunting shriek and began to move once more, setting into motion the system of gears that was in the forge, As if the fight wasn't intense enough, what with one against two, it had been upped to another level.

Jack, utilizing the chains that were still around his wrists, swung them in Will's direction, wrapping the iron around the hilt of his sword, and jerking the blade out of Will's hand. Turning his attention back to Marie, he engaged in a furious exchange of thrusts and parries, before he suddenly sensed that an attack was coming from behind. Turning he barely managed to block the sword of Will, who had snatched up another blade.

Jack looked around him, suddenly becoming aware of the fact that the room was filled with bladed weapons. As the fight moved from the stable floor to the revolving gears, Jack found himself asking the question,"Who makes all these?"

"We do." said Will, with a hint of fierce pride in his voice, "And we practice with them three hours a day."

"You need to buy yourself a girl, mate." Quipped Jack.

That got on Will's bad side. Driving the pirate forward, the two of them momentarily left Marie behind amidst the turning gears. "Or perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day, is because you've already found one, and are other wise incapable of _wooing _said strumpet. You're not a eunuch are you?"

That last jibe got at Will and his reaction was one of anger. "I practice three hours a day so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it!"

That was exactly the reaction that Jack had been hoping for. He had fought for his life enough times where he knew how to turn an enemy's own emotions against him. Taking advantage of Will's sudden fury, he managed to find an opening where he could push Will out of the way. It could only have been for a few seconds at most, but a few seconds was all he needed to make it to the back door.

Or so he had planned. For there would be yet another unexpected obstacle he would have to overcome before he could make his escape. He found himself facing the double blades of Marie, who was standing in his way, brandishing to swords expertly in her hands. "Going somewhere?" She asked, challenge sparking in her eyes.

Jack groaned inwardly. He was running out of time for this. Dodging to his left, he tried to trip her up, but she was there almost before he finished moving. The same thing happened when he tried to go right. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to get out of this without drawing his sword. If what he had seen a little earlier was true, he would have his work cut out for him. She already seemed to have guessed this already, for she was smirking at him in such a way that gave Jack the uneasy feeling that he was being toyed with.

The two squared off, eyeing each other warily, before Marie finally said, "You're move."

For the next few minutes, the sounds of steel ringing on steel echoed through the forge. Jack, going one on one with the girl, was able to instantly see that she was as good as her brother, perhaps even better when she was armed with two swords instead of one.

"Would you mind if I asked you something?" He asked as they continued to exchange thrusts and parries.

"What?" She responded, half wondering why it was that this pirate seemed to enjoy carrying on conversations in the middle of a swordfight without seeming to miss a beat.

"Your brother says that you both make these swords. I find that a little hard to believe. It's certainly not what I would have expected from the weaker vessel."

Marie responded to this with a series of strong thrusts that drove him back several paces. "Do you? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint your rather poor opinion of my sex, but you've obviously been misinformed. I, at the very least, do not count myself a weaker vessel."

Jack tried to come down on her with an overheard attack, but she blocked with a forceful parry. This brought them within a few inches of each other's faces, and Marie saw in the gaze of the pirate a look of pure and unabashed lust. Marie saw that he was enjoying much more than the sword fight. "I can see that."

Marie growled and attacked with renewed force, her anger almost getting the better of her. Jack, despite having to be now doubly on his guard, had to grin. She had potentially more spit and fire in her than the Miss Swann that he had had the pleasure of being so near to earlier that day. A pity he wouldn't be able to have the same opportunity with this one.

"You might want to be careful. Such hard work could damage your delicate condition. Sewing and cooking are far less dangerous. Why don't you try taking those up. I'm surprised that one as pretty as you hasn't found a husband and settled down by now."

Jack, like many people, often didn't know when to stop talking. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he got a not so subtle hint that he had probably said the wrong thing.

Marie's eyes suddenly flashed sapphire green and she attacked with renewed ferocity and vigor. Jack suddenly found that he was hard-pressed to defend himself." I'm sorry to disappoint your conventionalities of womanhood," She said, he voice strained with the anger and effort of her strokes. "But I have more ambition than that."

Jack hadn't really been worried about getting out of this fight alive since it had begun. But now, he found that he was very close to possibly losing. This girl was a master with two swords, even better than many pirates he had encountered who could only wield one. She seemed to be able to anticipate his movements before he made them. It was as if she was inside him and could see what he was going to do next. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before she managed to get the better of him.

Finally, he came up with an idea. Sometimes when a person became used to fighting in one style, and if that style was suddenly taken from them and they were forced to make a change in-fight, it could throw them off and give the opponent the upper hand. If he could deprive her of one her swords, he might gain the advantage he needed.

Jack parried her thrusts, waiting for her to make a slip. As she was practically boiling with anger, he did not have to wait long to find an opening. She came at him overhead, leaving the other sword in her hand, loose but ready, should she need it. She wasn't expecting him to duck the blow, and knock the sword from her hand with the hilt of his own weapon.

Marie hadn't foreseen the move. And that came as a slight relief to Jack. It meant that not all of his tricks could be predicted from someone that he had never met before. Now the playing field had been leveled. In fact, Jack might have had a slight advantage, which he proceeded to use to its fullest extent. Marie was driven back several paces. Gritting her teeth in obvious frustration, she decided that it would be best if she dropped out of the fight so she could get her bearings. She knew that she wouldn't be able to stop this pirate from escaping. She would leave that to her brother, who she knew could handle it.

She was right. For no sooner had she moved away from Jack, and he thought that he was home free. Will stepped into the gap. He had been waiting all along, just as she had been doing when the duel in the forge had first begun, and just like Marie, he was ready and willing to take up where Marie had left off. Pirate and blacksmith seemed to lay on the strokes faster and faster, as they ranged back across the forge, to the cart that Jack had descended only a few minutes before. The struts gave way underneath their combined weight and the cart began to sway and see-saw under them. Through balance born of long years of experience (as well as plain old luck), both combatants managed to stay upright and continue to fight with seemingly missing a beat. Marie was partly jealous that Will was getting to experience the challenge and she wasn't.

Suddenly in the heat of the battle, Will managed to hook a knife through the irons that were still attached to Jack's wrists. Before Jack could have an opportunity to wriggle free, Will thrust the knife into a rafter directly over the heads, effectively trapping Jack with one arm in the air. Jack, not one to let such a minor detail stop him from winning, kicked one the loose boards in the cart, which threw Will off the cart. Granted a temporary reprieve, Jack swung up to the rafters, using is body weight to get the knife out of the beam. He succeeded, but the next instant, he immediately fell back to the earth. Will just happened to step onto the cart at the very instant that Jack crashed onto it. In short, In obedience to the laws of gravity, when Jack went up, Will went up into the beams. Jack, miraculously still conscious even after his hard fall, when he saw Will up in the rafters, grinned cockily. That grin vanished when Will, who was wearing an expression that was smug enough in its' own right, cut a heavy sack that was suspended by the ceiling. It landed square on the cart, vaulting Jack up into the rafters along with Will.

While all this had been going on, Marie had lingered in the background, watching every move that her brother and the pirate made with their swords. She was ready to step back in, but there was never a place where she could have done so without being a distraction to Will. Once they were up in the rafters, she was helpless to do anything. Will was on his now, but she was still ready clutching the one sword that she still possessed tightly in her hand. She waited, watching ever closely for any opportunity that would present itself to get back in the fight.

Above her, steel clashed against steel as Will and Jack slashed, parried, and attacked. It was obviously a bit more cautious than before, but they still managed to nor only keeps their balance jumping from rafter to rafter, but they maintained the rhythm of the fight, still managing to exchange thrusts and blows at dizzying speeds. Marie herself could hardly keep track.

But, in such a situation, it could not be long before either Will or Jack got the upper hand. When Will knocked Jack's sword from his hand, it seemed obvious who would finally emerged as victor from this little brawl. Jack hadn't been expecting the move; now with Will's sword in his face and no weapon of his own with which to defend himself, the only way he could go was down. Will anticipated this move and when Jack leapt down, Will did too, though his descent was decidedly more graceful than Jacks'.

Jack found himself cornered on the wall of the forge, with two swords pointed directly at him. It seemed that he had finally run out of tricks. Will took the opportunity and attacked. Jack made his next decision in the split-second frame of time that he had. Noticing the bag of dust that was hanging by the forge's side, he grabbed it and unleashed its contents directly into Will's face. Dust flew from the sack, blinding Will and leaving his defenseless. Jack kicked the sword from Will's hand and jumped down. Marie was right there, but before she could lay in even one stroke, he unceremoniously punched her in the jaw. She fell back to the floor, dazed and unarmed. Mentally, she cursed herself for not expecting anything less than foul play from a pirate. Why play fair when cheating would be able to get him out not only quicker but also alive?

However, despite his victory, Jack could see that neither of the two young people was going to back down, even now. The time had come for drastic measures.

Once Will got the dust clear from his face, he found that there was a pistol aimed directly at him. The pirate, since the first time he had entered the forge, looked deadly serious, with a major emphasis on "deadly."

"You cheated." Will accused.

Jack smirked. What else had the boy been expecting? "Pirate." Was all he said, as though it should have been obvious from the start.

The tense atmosphere was suddenly shattered by the sound of pounding on the door and people shouting outside. The Royal Navy had at last managed to track down Sparrow and they wouldn't be waiting for anyone to be answering the door.

As the first sound of the Marines at the door, Jack moved and to try and escape out the back way, but Will intent on making sure that he did no such thing, moved to block him."

"Move away." said Jack, threateningly.

"No."

"Please move." Jack tried once more, nearly choking on the word please, as if he absolutely hated having to resort to manners to get himself out of this mess.

But manners, in this case, were useless. "No!" said Will, more emphatic than the first time. "I cannot just step aside and let you escape."

Jack grimaced. He hadn't wanted it to come to this. He never liked situations that turned out this way, but they were leaving him no choice. Uncocking the pistol, he said dangerously, "This shot was not meant for you."

Marie braced herself, waiting for the blast to come (and also ready to strangle the life from this pirate is he harmed Will), but nothing happened. For a brief second after he had uncocked the pistol, Jack inexplicably paused. Both Marie and Will looked at him in confusion. Why didn't he shoot? The opportunity to escape was his for the taking. Why didn't he take it? Why was he delaying?

The answer was quite simple. Both Marie and Will had underestimated Jack Sparrow. While he had no scruples to thieving and piracy on the high seas, he was different from many pirates in one important way. He wasn't a murderer. If there was any other way out of a situation, he would take it, and in this instance he was almost, in a way, begging Will to take his last chance at life and not force him to pull the trigger.

However, that moment of desperate delay on Jack's part was also his one big error. For he had forgotten, as had Marie and Will, that there was someone else in the forge, a person that Jack had more or less ruled out as being a threat to him.

There was a distinct think and the shattering of glass. Jack's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the smithy floor, completely unconscious. Mr. Brown, in an amazing feat of bodily engineering had not only managed to stand up, but he had also actually walked nearly ten feet to strike Jack on the back of the head with his empty bottle.

At that precise moment, the front door to the shop burst open under the brunt of the Marine's guns. Immediately, the smithy filled with the red coated members of the Royal Navy, including Commodore Norrington himself.

"Excellent work, Mr. Brown." said Norrington, as he approached the scene where the final confrontation had taken place. "You have assisted in the capture of a dangerous fugitive."

"Just doing my civic duty, sir."

Norrington glanced down at the unconscious pirate. "Well, I trust you that you will always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow _almost_ escaped. Take him away."

The marines gathered up the pirate and began filing out the door. Norrington nodded toward Mr. Brown, than at Marie and Will before striding out after them.

Will and Marie looked at each other. On one level the humor of the situation wasn't lost on them. Mr. Brown had been asleep and hadn't even stirred until now, even after all the noise that would have woken up anyone else before now. The very idea that he had brought the pirate down was laughable. True, it was unfair that they hadn't gotten the credit that they deserved, but in light of everything else, they had to work hard not to laugh.

Mr. Brown turned to them and snapped gruffly, "Well, get back to work, you two. I'm off to the tavern."

Once Mr. Brown had gone, the twins burst out laughing. "'Get back to work you two.'" said Marie, miming Mr. Brown's deep, perpetually slurred speech.

"'I'm off to the tavern.'" finished Will, before breaking down into hopeless laughter.

"Why, to celebrate his great victory."

"I would give a lot to see how he spins the tale."

"Well he has to make it look good for himself. It wouldn't be exactly flattering for everyone to know that his apprentices were the ones who fought Jack Sparrow while he slept in the shadows from a drunken stupor."

They spent a few more minutes sharing laughs at the expense of Mr. Brown. Before Will said, "We had better get back to work. We don't want to suffer Mr. Brown's wrath when he gets back."

"Oh, he certainly terrifies me, but you're probably right."

However, even as she and Will returned to the tedious work of the forge, she had to stifle a longing sigh. The excitement of the past fifteen minutes would throw into even sharper relief the dull drudgery of her normal everyday life. For the past few years, she had been itching for something more than the life of a blacksmith, or whatever she would inevitably become if she stayed in Port Royal, the prospect of which was too frightening to consider. She couldn't deny that she dreamed of something more, and despite the fact that Jack Sparrow had annoyed her, yet there had been something about him, in his eyes, that had been rather compelling in a way. Maybe that was why she had annoyed her in the first place: because he represented everything that she wanted to experience, life, adventure, and most of all, freedom.

So, the routine in the lives of these two young twins returned to normal. Or so it appeared, but in reality, the opposite was true. For in the forge that day, more than blades had been crossed. Blades of destiny had also clashed against each other as well, and from that day on, the fates of one pirate, one blacksmith and one spirited woman would become entwined, the one with the other, creating what would either be a seamless picture of harmony or a hopelessly tangled web.

* * *

Next chapter: The _Black Pearl _comes calling on Port Royal and the story really starts picking up.


	7. Chapter 7: Prelude

Prelude:

Night fell over Port Royal, but the day's ending by no means mirrored its bright beginning. Fog had completely engulfed the bay, shrouding everything in an almost deathlike pall. Clouds covered the moon and stars, making the blackness of night appear even more gloomy and ominous. A chill, unusual for that time of year in the Caribbean, could be felt by any who were walking the streets, though those numbers were very scant. The streets of the city were strangely deserted and eerily quiet. There was a feeling of foreboding in the air, almost as if something terrible were coming and it was as if all the signs that had occurred throughout the day were merely a prelude to something much bigger.

Some feelings of foreboding are merely the subconscious fears of the human mind. Sometimes such feelings mean nothing. But this time, they did.

On the horizon, against the blackness of the sky, an even darker shadow appeared. It was a ship, as dark as night and as threatening as the apparition of death. It had dark wood and black, tattered sails, yet seemed to move as effortlessly through the liquid water as if the sails were taut and stretched by a fresh wind from behind. It wouldn't have taken anyone with half a brain to figure out that this was no ordinary ship, and they would have been correct in assuming that it was a ghost ship.

They had not come here to this port with the normal pirate design in mind. They had been called by the supernatural ripple in the sea, the sudden change in weather, all the clues had pointed them, drawn them to this place.

They knew; they could feel it in their very souls. The last piece was here, the final part that would set them free from a bondage of nearly ten years.

The black ship, its torn sails rippling and flapping in the night wind, turned its bow into the current and began to make its final approach to the as yet unsuspecting town of Port Royal.

* * *

The lights were burning low in the governor's mansion. The only room where activity still was stirring was in the room of his youngest daughter.

Any other noble woman might have spent days in bed with a fever and hysterics if they had fallen into the ocean from a great height and than been threatened by a pirate to top it off. Elizabeth Swann, however, was no ordinary noblewoman. Once her father and sister had managed to get her home and warmed up, she had made a speedy recovery. She wasn't one to lie about for days on end and she fully intended to be back to normal by tomorrow.

Her maid, Estrella, had left her for the night. Now, for the first time that day, she was finally free to truly reflect upon the events that had happened to her during that day. Taking the medallion from her dressing gown, she found herself remembering what the pirate had said when he had seen it.

"Where did you get that?" From his behavior, he must have known what this medallion was and that he couldn't believe that she had something like it. But why should he have recognized it? What secret did this medallion hold? There was some larger mystery in the words of Jack Sparrow, a mystery that she was so sure she would never find out, if Norrington and the hangman's noose had anything to say about it on the morrow.

Elizabeth was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a soft knock on the door. "Come in." she called.

Emma entered the room, dressed, as was Elizabeth in a nightgown and ready to go to bed. "I thought that you would not be asleep yet."

Quickly, as Emma was shutting the door, Elizabeth hid the medallion from her sister's view. She had never told Emma that she had kept the medallion after all these years when she had been told to destroy it. She had never been sure if Emma would understand, if she had happened to remember the strange medallion at all.

Once Emma had shut the door, she crossed the room and sat on Elizabeth's bed. There had been a long standing tradition between the two of them that they would always drop in on the other before they retired to bed. Sometimes the only thing they had to say was good night, but many other times, they allowed themselves to take advantage of a time when they didn't have to worry about being overheard or set upon by others seeking their favor. They had come to rely on these times to keep them close. Emma and Elizabeth trusted each other and they had relied on each other more as the years had passed. And because of those two things, they had told each other secrets that no one else could have guessed they had.

"Well," said Emma, once she was seated on the bed, "how are you feeling? You've certainly had a busy day."

"Yes." said Elizabeth smiling, "it's not every day one gets saved by an infamous pirate and than threatened by said pirate all within five minutes."

"But, of course, you always did dream of meeting a pirate, and today that dream came true. That must count for something. What did you think?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, perfectly aware of the fact that Emma was teasing her mercilessly. "I admit, it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be."

Emma shook her head and smiled. "Pirates. Normally, you'd think that it would be easy to guesswhat they were thinking. But Jack Sparrow, I'm afraid, strikes me as being more morally ambiguous than most."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. It's just that there was something about him that I can't really understand. He's just different than I thought he would be for a pirate of his reputation."

"Oh, please don't say anymore. You know that it bothers me when you start talking about people so intimately when you don't know them."

"Sorry. I can't help it. But, I think that you can finally at least say that you've met a pirate, and can rightly say that they are not all that the stories and rumors make them out to be."

"I hate having to admit that you're right. Still, it doesn't seem that he should be executed. He didn't kill me and I don't know if he ever intended to. Let him languish in prison for awhile, but he certainly doesn't deserve to die."

"It might surprise you to know that I agree with you." Elizabeth looked at her sister. She frankly surprised that Emma would take that stand. She had always been proper of the two. "I may not approve of Jack Sparrow's career or lifestyle, but I have to say that he's a good man. I would do something to help him if I could, but once Commodore Norrington has made a judgment, it's difficult to change his mind. He's a man of the law and nothing can keep him being who he is." Emma looked down and began toying with the sheets, trying to hide the fact that she was nervous, "And speaking of the Commodore, have you made a choice yet, regarding his proposal?"

Elizabeth was continually marveled at how Emma could so effectively exude a mask of perfect indifference over her true feelings on a subject. Had she not been an aristocrat, Elizabeth was sure that she would have made an excellent actress. But, Elizabeth knew that there was such a thing as hiding your feelings too much. Elizabeth was sure that if Emma continued to do so, all her chances of happiness would vanish forever.

"Emma, I intend to flatly refuse him. And once I'm quite sure that he's over me (which will not be long), I intend to point him in another direction."

"Elizabeth, you really mustn't..."

"And why mustn't I? Emma, I'm not going to let you languish anymore." Elizabeth held up a hand, forestalling whatever objection her sister was about to make, "And don't give me any of your martyrdom attitude, Emma. I couldn't stand being married to Norrington. He's a good man, but I would be bored to death, and you would spend the rest of your life pining for a man that you can't have. Is that what you want?"

"No, no, I just don't want to be courted by someone who doesn't love me. And I'm not even sure if he does."

"He loves you, Emma. I'm sure of it. He may not be aware of it, but the feelings which he has for you are stronger than any he could have for me. Why else would he open up so much to you?"

"He trusts me, that's all. We are good friends, Elizabeth. Nothing more."

Elizabeth looked at her sister and had to smile a little. "Why do you always think of others so much before yourself? You are so unselfish that you don't consider your own needs enough."

Emma smiled. "Who is the elder sister now?"

"Say what you want to, Emma, but I assure you that I will see you married to James Norrington, if it's the last thing I do."

Emma knew that Elizabeth was right, and if she didn't admit it, she was actually glad that Elizabeth looked after her. "You talk to me of love, and yet how is it, that you can't admit that a certain blacksmith might be the right person for you?"

Elizabeth may have been able to bluff in front of the servants about her feelings toward Will, but it was impossible to lie to Emma. "You know about my feelings for Will. But I don't know how to tell him. It sometimes seems as if there is a great chasm between us, called class. I only wish that it could be crossed."

"The first move may be up to you. Don't let the boundaries of class bar you from you want and need most, Elizabeth. You have got to follow your heart in times such as this, regardless of what others might say."

Elizabeth very rarely heard Emma saying such things. When she did, it always came as a surprise. "This from the woman who always used scolded me for the breaking the rules?"

In response Emma only smiled. "Some rules are meant to be broken."

Their conversation was brought to an abrupt end when a cool wind suddenly blew through the room, causing both Emma and Elizabeth to shudder. What was even stranger was that it snuffed out not only Elizabeth's candle by her bedside, but also the fire that had been burning so brightly before. And, when Elizabeth tried to relight the candle and Emma the fireplace, neither of their repeated efforts yielded results. They both exchanged looks. The same question was going through both of their minds: what was going on? But neither could ask it, for it was plain that neither Emma nor Elizabeth knew the answer.

* * *

Down in the city, the citizens slept, weary after the days' toil. But in the blacksmith shop of Jeremiah Brown, sleep for its two primary workers would be a long time in coming.

Marie and Will Turner were turning in a late night in the forge. Mr. Brown had ordered them to make sure that they completed all of their work before they turned in, or they would pay a heavy price for it in the morning. It was hardly a convincing threat since he wouldn't be checking in the morning to see if they had completed the work anyway.

It wasn't unusual for them both to be up and working long into the night when most other sane people would have been asleep. This night, however, was a different. They both felt it, but they couldn't identify the feeling. It was a strange, eerie feeling, a feeling that they were about to relive an old nightmare.

Will was hammering away at a piece of red hot metal on the anvil, while Marie was heating another piece of the metal in the fires of the forge. The steady sounds of Will hammering at the forge, the cracking of the fire in the forge; these were the only sounds that broke the silence that pervaded the forge. Neither brother nor sister could bring themselves to speak of what of what they felt happening around them.

However, Will suddenly stopped hammering. He couldn't deny it any longer, something was not right. He went over to the window and opened it, peering out into the alleyway that was shrouded in fog. The only thing that moved was the figure of a black cat that ran past the window before disappearing into the darkness.

Will drew back from the window, his brow furrowed in confusion. Something that he couldn't identify was starting. There was heaviness in the air, a cold feeling of dread that seemed to be everywhere, even in himself. It felt like there was a storm coming, but he couldn't tell from which direction or where it would break first.

"You feel it as well?" Marie's voice broke from his semi-trance. He booked at her and could see that she had been sensing what he had been feeling all along.

"Yes. I've been feeling it ever since darkness fell."

Marie felt herself shuddering, despite he tough exterior. "That's when I started to feel it, too. What do you think it means?"

"I don't know, Marie. I don't know."

They both somehow sensed that they would not be getting anymore work done that night.

* * *

The ship with the tattered sails had moved closer to Port Royal with each passing minute. Its approach was silent and stealthy, black hull blending in perfectly with the night-darkened waters and black sails becoming one with the night sky. There was nothing to alert any potential lookout to her approach.

Riding upon the night swells, _The Black Pearl_ arrived at Port Royal.


	8. Chapter 8: Build Up

Chapter 7: Build Up

All was quiet at Fort Chares, the great stone facade that stood watch over the bay of Port Royal, its stone edifice seemingly immoveable against the forces of wind, sea, and land. It was here that many pirates had met their end, either in the battles with the fort's cannons, or, more commonly, the hangman's noose. Indeed, the courtyard of the fortress was often the last thing that these unfortunate men saw.

And, the way Norrington had planned it, that was exactly the last thing that Jack Sparrow would be seeing in the morning. A fresh noose was already hanging from the scaffold, waiting to ensnare a new victim in its inescapable grasp.

James Norrington, newly promoted Commodore of the Royal Navy in the Caribbean, felt a twinge of regret at having to hang Sparrow. The man was clever after all, and it was a misfortune that he had chosen such a nefarious lifestyle as piracy. Had he chosen to follow the law, his knowledge of the sea (which James had to give him credit for or he wouldn't have been able to elude the clutches of all those people who had a claim to his head), and his quick and clever mind (which had nearly managed to outwit him and all of his troops), the two of them could very well have been equals. But, as it was, the Commodore had no choice. It was his duty, as well as the law, that he apprehend every pirate that he could catch and execute them forthwith, so that ordinary, decent citizens might breathe easier. Jack Sparrow was a pirate, and being so, he would have to pay the price. It was as simple as that.

"Has my daughter given you an answer yet?"

James was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Weatherby Swann's voice. James was glad to be able to stop thinking about the morbid aspects of life and switch to something infinitely more pleasing.

"No, she hasn't." Not that he could exactly blame Elizabeth; after all, it wasn't as if she had been at much leisure to give him any sort of definite response.

The governor agreed with his unspoken thought. "Well, she has a had a very trying day."

James smiles, glad to have the opportunity to relax control over his emotions, for however short a time. Such control was necessary if one was to have command of men, but every so often, it was a relief when he had the chance to be himself.

"Ghastly weather, don't you think?" said Swann.

"Bleak, very bleak." said James, who hadn't really heard the question, still lost in his thoughts about Elizabeth, the woman who he hoped would be his future bride. He naturally hoped that he would be answered favorably and yet, there were still some doubts lingering in the back of his mind. He had to admit that he was not completely sure of Elizabeth's affections for him. There had been times during their courtship when he had thought that she didn't feel anything for him. Had it not been for Emma's help and encouragement, than he would never have gotten up the nerve to ask her to marry him in the first place.

**BOOM!**

The distant sound was enough to jerk him away from such romantic meanderings. He briefly wondered if he had merely imagined the noise, but than Swann asked, in a puzzled voice, "What's that?"

That alone was enough to bring James' senses to full alert. He looked out to sea and the blackness, and clearly saw the brief flash of gunpowder. His instincts moved him withalmost no conscious thought on his part, and before he knew what he was doing, he had covered the short distance between him and the Governor in a single stride and was tacking him to the floor. He thought that he heard himself shouting _"Cannon fire!" B_ut his voice sounded faint and far away.

Already the cool, precise Commodore Norrington was replacing James Norrington. "Return fire!" There was no procrastination or dawdling about when Norrington gave an order in that tone of voice. The Royal Navy were scrambling to fall into position to defend the fort and town from the unexpected attack. And it could have been no more than thirty seconds later when a volley of cannonade went off from the parapets of Port Royal and into the bay below.

And so the battle was joined.

* * *

The first blast of the cannons had landed very close to the blacksmith shop of Jeremiah Brown. It had been so close that the blast had fairly rattled the windows and Marie thought for a moment that the entire structure was going to topple down on them.

Both having survived a devastating pirate attack either years before, they had knew what would be coming next. Will moved to rack that contained all types of weapons, everything from swords and daggers to hatchets and axes, and began grabbing weapons off of it.

"What are you doing?" asked Marie.

"What do you think I'm doing?" said Will, as he drew a hatchet from the rack and tested its weight, "I'm going to fight them."

"You can't honestly believe that you can drive them off single-handedly, do you?"

"I won't just sit here than I do nothing. If I can stop them from harming one innocent person, than that will be enough."

Marie knew that she couldn't argue with Will when he was this determined, but she wasn't about to let him go off alone.

"Than I'm coming with you." She said, as she too began to take weapons for herself from the rack.

Will stopped what he was doing. "Marie, no. You've got to stay here."

"Will I can take care of myself."

"I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger."

No one else would have been able to tell that Will was frightened, but he was. Will was frightened of one thing, and that was losing Marie, his twin and the only family that he had left in the world. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her. He had come so close to losing her once before. Because of that, he was determined that she would never be in such a situation where she might lose her life.

Marie knew that her brother feared losing her, but she was as stubborn as he was and refused to be left out when there was work to be done (or a good fight to be had).

"Will, I am not going to stand by and let those pirates overrun Port Royal." Will started to object, but Mare cut him off, "You want to keep me safe. In this situation, there is no safe place. I would much rather being out there fighting, than cowering in this blacksmith's shop knowing that you could be out there running the risk of getting killed." When he didn't answer, her voice became quiet and desperate. "Please Will, let me do this."

Will was silent for a moment. He knew that there was nothing he could do to win this argument. It was probably for the very best that he let Marie have herown way, because even if he ordered her to stay, she would probably go anyway. "Fine, Marie. But be careful."

"Same to you. Don't try to be too brave."

Even in the direness of the situation, Will couldn't help but grin. "And you, don't try anything too foolhardy."

They suddenly heard the sound of breaking glass, screaming, laughing, and cursing. The pirates had landed. That brought an end to any bantering between the two. They looked at each other, knowing what had to be done.

Will started to head for the door, but stopped when Marie called to him. "Will, good luck."

"You, too."

As they stepped out onto the street, they stumbled into a scene that seemed little better than a nightmare. The sound of grotesque laughter and screaming seemed to have increased ten-fold. Smoke from flaming buildings, gun powder and grenades stung their eyes and made Marie's lungs burn.

A woman suddenly ran past them, screaming, a black-bearded pirate hot in pursuit. It took Will less than three seconds to take careful aim and throw of the hatchets that was attached to his belt. It whistled through the air, burying itself in the pirate's spine; it was a fatal blow. They surged forward, Will pausing only a moment to retrieve his hatchet from the pirate's back, and together they raced forward into the fray.

Neither of them bothered to look back. They thought that he had been dispatched him cleanly and that there would be at least one pirate who wouldn't be able to cause trouble. But they were wrong, for only a few seconds after Mare and Will vanished, the pirate inexplicably opened his eyes, rose to his feet and began to pillage and plunder anew, completely untouched by the blow that Will had given him, almost as if he hadn't gotten it at all.

This was hardly an isolated incident. All over Port Royal, as the pirates moved deeper into the streets, slaughtering and stealing left and right. No matter how hard the townspeople resisted, they would not be able to win this battle. These pirates held a distinct advantage: they couldn't die.

Cursed by an ancient and dark treasure that they had plundered ten years ago for greed, they now had slowly become greed themselves. And they now existed in a place between life and earth, there they couldn't eat, drink or even feel. But now they had come here. The medallion had called to them, and now their salvation was at last near. The final piece was somewhere in this town. They would fid it and find the blood that would life the curse, even if they had to tear apart the city bit by bit.

Little did they know just how close they had come to their goal, and yet how far they would find they had fallen short of the prize.

* * *

Fort Charles was ablaze in gun powder, cannon fire and explosions. Hell fire spat from the fort's cannon ports, as the Marines struggle to fight off the pirate ship that has sneaked up on them without any warning whatsoever.

Commodore Norrington was in his element. As the guns blazed and the smell permeated his nostrils, he felt adrenaline and excitement coursing through his veins. They guided him through his actions, from one step to the next, as surely and confidently as if he did this every day.

On the surface, he seemed the normal cool, calm commander, perfectly in control of the situation and his own emotions. And yet, there was something else that driving him, making him so sure of each of his actions. Deep in his soul, he could feel the stirrings of rage so often kept under lock and key, hidden from the rest of the world, and he could feel it straining to be let loose. Had it not been for his years of Navy training, and working on hiding all that he was really feeling, than he was sure that he would have allowed that anger to take control him. The old wounds of his family's death by pirates when he was a boy living in England were still there. He rarely allowed his thoughts to wonder so far back into the past, but whenever he was in battle with the beasts who had been killed them, some part of him took an almost fiendish satisfaction when he knew that at least one pirate would no longer be able to live and murder another day. Revenge was always lurking somewhere in the back of his minds during these encounters, no matter how much he may have tried to deny it.

However careful a control he tried to have on his emotions, even he knew that there was something harsh in his commanding voice as he roared out orders above the din of the battle, "Sight muzzle flash! Aim for the flashes!" It sounded like there was an extra edge in his voice, an edge that made the soldiers jump to obey his orders. No one wanted to feel the wrath of the Commodore that night.

"I need a full strike, fore and aft! Let these demons bite at this!"

His stream of orders suddenly halted when he bumped into Governor Swann, who was looking around him like a lost dog, a dog who didn't know where it was or where it should be going. "Governor,' said Norrington, "barricade yourself in my office."

Swann hesitated momentarily, but when an explosion sounded nearby, raining down shale and flak in all directions, that pretty much took care of any hesitations he might have had, as did the serious look in Norrington's eyes. "That's an order!" He said coldly, putting decorum aside, since he knew decorum wouldn't get him anywhere. However he may have respected Governor Swann, he also knew that this the last place that the leader of Port Royal should be.

Norrington waited until he was sure that the Governor had made it to safety before turning back to the battle at hand. He would defeat these monsters, no matter what the cost. It wouldn't free him from the scars, but it would satisfy, at the moment, his desire for vengeance.

* * *

Next chapter: The mighty crescendo of the attack comes and events are set in motion that cannot be stopped as the pirates launch their attack on the Governor's mansion and come away with a prize that is far more valuable than gold or jewels.


	9. Chapter 9: Crescendo

Chapter 10: Crescendo

At the Governor's mansion, chaos reigned. When Elizabeth and Emma had heard the first shots of the battle, they had both rushed to the window that overlooked Port Royal, only to see the entire city alight with the flames of dozens of fires. But that turned out to the least of their worries.

A band of screaming pirates suddenly burst through the gates and ran up the gravel drive, bearing down on the mansion house like a horde of locusts descending upon a ripe field, intent of destruction.

Both Emma and Elizabeth knew that they would be in trouble if the pirates managed to get inside. None of the servants would be of help to them. They were on their own. And if the pirates should happen to corner them... The consequences didn't bear thinking about.

Emma felt cold dread welling up inside her. She was no coward, but she wouldn't deny that what was happening was terrifying her. Nonetheless, since there was no place to run, she refused to let it control her.

However, Elizabeth had no such cautious thoughts. As the pirates surged up to the door and began pounding on it, Elizabeth didn't hesitate to rush out of the room. "Elizabeth, come back!" But if Elizabeth even heard her, she didn't obey. Emma heard her shouting something down to the ground floor. A gunshot followed a moment later, than she heard the shrill sound of Elizabeth screaming. A jolt of fear passed through her. Had Elizabeth been shot and killed?

She rushed to the door, relieved to see that Elizabeth was safe, only to have that relief turn to horror as she heard someone shouting from below, "There is she!" There was no doubt that the pirates had spotted Elizabeth and they were onto her.

"Elizabeth," She screamed, fearing more Elizabeth's safety than the pirates discovering her at the moment. "Get in here. Now!"

Elizabeth nodded no second bidding. Below her pandemonium had broken loose. Pirates were running unchecked through the mansion, taking everything of value that could be found and destroying everything else.

Elizabeth raced up the stairs, the pirates who were pursuing her only a few feet behind. She was barely able to get into the room ahead of them, before slamming and locking the door in their faces.

Estrella was panicked and terrified. "Miss Swann, they've come to kidnap you, both of you."

"What?" asked Elizabeth.

"You're the Governor's children."

Elizabeth and Emma looked at each other and it was only than that they realized the full danger that they were in. The ransom that the pirates could demand from them could be huge. And though their father would pay that sum, Emma suspected that wouldn't matter to the pirates: once they had wanted and they would just simply kill them.

The tense moment was shattered by the pirates, who had been pursuing Elizabeth began pounding on the door. The door was shuddering, the lock rattling. It didn't look like the door would be able to withstand the onslaught very much longer. They wouldn't be safe in this location for very long.

Pressed for time, Elizabeth made a split-second decision, a choice that she knew would put her in danger, but it was the only option.

"Emma, Estrella, hide!"

"What?" said Emma, shocked by what Elizabeth was suggesting.

"Emma, please, they haven't seen you. You have a chance. Hide and the first chance you get run to the fort."

Emma knew that Elizabeth was right and arguing would be out of the question, as well as a waste of time. She squeezed Elizabeth's hand gently and said, "God be with you, Elizabeth."

"And you." said Elizabeth. "Now go."

Reluctantly, Emma hid behind the dressing screen with Estrella, the guilt of leaving her sister behind all too obvious.

They took refuge not a moment to soon, for the next instant, the door burst open and the two pirates who had been chasing Elizabeth tumbled into the room. They looked around them wildly, trying to catch sight of their quarry. One of them looked straight into Emma's eyes and she was half afraid that they had been spotted. But than, the other one rapped his partner on the shoulder, and gestured to the open doorway of Elizabeth's room. Emma had to restrain herself from running to Elizabeth's protection when the pirates ran to the doorway in hot pursuit of Elizabeth.

**CLANG!**

They hadn't expected the bed warmer which Elizabeth had dragged out from under the covers of her bed. The hard iron slammed into the face of one of the pirates, effectively stunning him. It was for only a moment, but it was all that they needed. "Go!" She whispered to the still terrified Estrella. They had to take this chance for she knew that there wouldn't be another one offered to them.

Emma and Estrella hurried down the stairs, fear and adrenaline making them even swifter than they would have been in any other situation. The pirates who were rampaging through the house didn't seem to notice them, being too busy as they were trying to steal all they could while the getting was good.

They managed to make it down the steps and out the open door. Estrella screamed as they passed over the dead body of a foot man. Emma gasped in shock, trying not to think of how the poor man had actually died, though she inwardly suspected. Why go to all the trouble of breaking down the door when you could simply knock and wait for someone to open the door?

Emma pushed Estrella out the door and into the relative safety of the drive, made so only because of the fact that there weren't any pirates there. How long that would last, however, Emma wasn't sure, but she was sure that it wouldn't be long.

"Estrella, wait." She shouted after the maid as she began heading down the drive.

"But, your sister said that we were to run to the fort as soon as we could."

"Yes, but how can we help her if we ourselves get captured or killed along the way?" Even in the midst of such a crisis, Emma was still thinking about the most sensible course of action. It had occurred to her that it wouldn't be smart to run blindly into Port Royal's streets which would undoubtedly be swarming with pirates.

"What shall we do than?" asked Estrella, who was shaking with ill concealed fear.

Emma had to think quickly. She looked around her and her eyes fell on the tall bushes that bordered the walk up to the door of the mansion. "Hide, in there, quickly." She said, as she grabbed Estrella by the arm and began pulling to the bushes.

"But, they'll see us in there. I know it..."

"Why would they look there? There's no gold, no jewels, nothing of value." Estrella tried to object, but Emma cut her off firmly, "Estrella, trust me. I know what I'm doing."

Estrella was by now too frightened to argue. She ducked under the branches of the bush and began to crawl. Emma waited until she was well under the sheltering branches of the bushes before following her. Her nightgown became smeared with dirt within seconds, her robe caught and torn by the branches, but she hardly noticed it.

She didn't need to tell Estrella to be silent. The maid knew when it was time to talk and when she was to keep quiet. Though she was trembling violently, she made no sound.

Emma waited anxiously. She hoped that Elizabeth had managed to escape from her pursuers, but the longer that the two of them waited, cowering in the bushes, the cannon fire booming and blazing above and around them like a thunderstorm, the dimmer that hope became.

Suddenly, after several minutes had passed, Estrella grabbed Emma's arm, "Miss, look."

Emma's eyes swung around to look at the door. When she saw her sister, she nearly broke her own self-imposed silence, for to her horror Elizabeth had been captured by the pirates. The two ugly specimens of humanity that had been chasing her before held her arms pinioned to her sides, and all her struggling was useless against their superior strength.

"Elizabeth." She whispered, and she began crawling out of the bushes.

"Miss," whispered Estrella, "What are you doing?"

"I can't let those pirates just take her hostage. I've got to do something."

Estrella caught Emma by her arm and pulled her back. "You wouldn't stand a chance against them, Miss. And you won't be any help to Elizabeth if you get captured yourself. You've never been a fool, Miss; don't start acting like one now."

Emma knew that Estrella was right. She retreated back into the shelter of the bushes, almost unable to bear the sight of Elizabeth being dragged down the drive and out of the gates.

They waited for what seemed like hours, until finally the rain of cannon fire stopped, and there was only the eerie sound of the wind whispering through the trees.

"What happened?" asked Estrella, after a few minutes of silence. "Why did they stop firing?"

"Why should they continue?" said Emma, "They've brought Port Royal down, picked it clean and now all they left are the bones."

"What if they've only stopped to reload and they intend to finish what they've started?"

"Either way, we won't be getting an opportunity like this again. Come on."

Together they crawled out from under the bushes and began to make their cautious way down the drive and along the road that led into Port Royal. One could never tell if, perhaps, a few stray pirates might still be hanging around.

As they descended further down the hill into the town, the more they saw the signs of the devastating pirate attack. The burned out shells of buildings, shattered glass and the fragments of cannon shells littered their way. Most disturbing were the bodies of the dead. As Emma had never been close to one dead body, let alone so many in one place, it was hard work just making it through the streets of the city to Fort Charles.

When they made it to the Fort, they found that the city was not the only one who had taken a beating. There was no one to stop them from entering. The guards at the entrance had been killed and the soldiers that were in sight were far to busy to notice them entering the fort.

In side the fort, chaos had been reigning for quite some time, and even now, complete order was far from being restored.

It didn't take her long to spot the Commodore. The distinctive blue coat of his rank and the calm detachment of his voice in the midst of so much destruction around them didn't make him difficult to find.

"Commodore!" She shouted up to the rampant.

At the sound of her voice, he turned from consulting one of his officers and looked down. His eyes widened and there was evident surprise at seeing her in the courtyard of the Fort so soon after a pirate attack. But under the surprise, Emma could see that he was also worried. If Emma was there, and with Elizabeth nowhere in sight, than he knew that something terrible had happened.

Dismissing the officer, he descended the steps quickly. "Emma," he blurted out the question before he could think of the propierty of addressing her by her first name, "What's happened? Are you all right? Where's Elizabeth?"

The stress and fear of that evening had become more than Emma could handle. Tears were streaking her face and her voice was breaking. "It's Elizabeth..."

"Why? What's happened to her?"

"She's been captured."

* * *

Next chapter: The aftermath of the battle. Choices are about to be made and journeys about to start. Where will it leave our characters? You've got to read to find out.

Be sure to read and review.


	10. Chapter 10: Aftermath

Chapter 11: Aftermath

Will awoke to two things as the sun began it's day's journey over the Caribbean sky. The first thing was a raging headache. The other was Marie's concerned face hovering above him.

"Will, Will, are you all right?"

Will managed to sit up, with some difficulty. He was sore all over and that throbbing ache in his head wasn't helping matters any. Still, he was alive at the very least.

"Yes, I think well as I can be." He looked around him, the daylight showing the extent of the damage that had taken place during the night. "What about you?" The two of them had become separated in the melee, and Will had only been able to hope that she was alive.

"Considering that I thought I was going to die about five different times last night, I'm surprised that I'm as all right as I am."

Marie helped Will get to his feet, relieved that he was unhurt, but also curious. She couldn't help but wonder if Will had noticed what she had noticed last night. "Will, when you were fighting the pirates did you happen to see anything unusual?"

"No, not that I can think of. In fact, the last thing that I remember is seeing Elizabeth..." A horrified look suddenly crossed Will's face as he remembered the last thing that he had seen before he had been knocked unconscious. "Elizabeth. They kidnapped Elizabeth!"

"What?" Marie said. "Will are you sure?"

"Yes. I saw her." He began to walking rapidly up the road in the direction of Fort Charles.

"Will, where are you going?"

Will didn't answer, obviously too absorbed in worried thoughts of Elizabeth to pay her any mind, or think of the logic of what he was doing. Marie sighed and hurried after him. She had an uneasy feeling that Will was about to walk yet again into a situation without thinking ahead.

The courtyard of the Fort was in shambles. Great chunks of stone wall had been blown apart and the pieces lay scattered everywhere. Blood stained the ground and walls, and the wounded were still being carried off to receive treatment. An air of panic still seemed to be pervading everywhere, and people moved as if the devil himself were still stalking them.

Everywhere, that is, except for the haven of calm and order that hovered around the commodore and his staff. They had established an impromptu command center in one of the alcoves that was located off the courtyard, and were in the process of pouring over sea charts and maps, trying to figure out the most likely course that the dark ship would take after the attack. The governor was there, as was Emma. She hadn't left since the previous night's disaster. Too shaken to return to the mansion, she had opted to stay behind with her father, where she felt safest.

Will unceremoniously barged into this aura of order. He didn't even pause to show the proper respects, which he might have done in any other situation, "They've taken her! They've taken Elizabeth!"

Commodore Norrington did not even so much look up. "Mr. Mourtogg," he said to one of the marines guarding the door, "remove this man."

Mourtogg tried to do so, but Will merely shook off his hands. He wasn't about to be thrown out like a common peasant. "We have to hunt them down. We must save her!"

"And where do you propose we start?" said Swann, whose face was deeply lined with lack of sleep and extreme worry for his youngest daughter. "If you have any information concerning my daughter, please share it."

Will had to admit that he didn't know any more about where Elizabeth might be at that moment that they did. But he was too stubborn to back down so easily.

Suddenly, one of the guards piped up, remembering something that the pirate captain had talked of the day before, "That Jack Sparrow, he talked about the _Black Pearl._"

"Mentioned it, is more what he did." Mourtogg might have said more, but an ice cold look from Norrington silenced him.

Will looked first to the guards, than to the Commodore, astonished that no one had thought of this and that no one was moving to act on it now. What was going on? Here was a perfect chance to rescue Elizabeth. Why weren't they taking advantage of it? "Ask him where it is." He said, exasperated, that no one was doing anything. "Make a deal with him, he can lead us to it."

"No." said Norrington, as if he were explaining something quite obvious to a child, "The pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell, ergo, they are not his allies." Apparently thinking that was the end of it, he turned away from Will and Marie in evident dismissal and started speaking to Swann, "Governor, we will establish their most likely course-"

Will wasn't ready to leave, not even the pleading glances of Emma and Marie could persuade him. In a fit of frustrated rage, he slammed the axe into the table between him and Norrington. "That's not good enough!"

Norrington was completely unimpressed by the boy's obvious frustration. Mr. Turner's show of youthful inexperience was beginning to wear on his patience. He pulled the axe from the table and came around to stand next to the blacksmith, speaking as he went. "Mr. Turner, you are not a military man. You are not a sailor." He was directly in front of Will by this time and his entire manner was one of condescension. "You are a _blacksmith." _He gripped him firmly by the arm and escorted him none-too-gently to the side, "This is not the moment for rash actions." His eyes softened slightly, but only slightly. In a way, he could understand why Mr. Turner was frustrated. It had taken all his self-control ever since he had found out that Elizabeth was captured to keep himself from tearing his hair out. But that wouldn't rescue Elizabeth. Only clear heads and logical thinking would be able to do so, and William Turner, with his rashness, couldn't understand that. "Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth." He hoped that his message of warning was quite clear.

Will was about to object anew, but than he caught sight of Emma, whose eyes were silently pleading him to cease before he said something that would get him in even deeper trouble. Marie took Will's arm, "Come on, Will." She said, in a whisper, "We're not welcome here."

Only than did Will relent, but he was shaking with ill-concealed anger and frustration. Shaking Marie's hold on his arm, he stalked away from the alcove and into the sun-drenched courtyard, Marie following him.

Once they had gone, Emma spoke up, unexpectedly. "They may be right."

Norrington looked up, slightly surprised. "What do you mean?"

"If there is any chance that Jack Sparrow knows anything about the _Black Pearl_ or where those pirates might have taken Elizabeth, than perhaps we should follow their advice."

"Take advice from a pirate?" said Swann, aghast at the idea, "Make an alliance with a dangerous outlaw? Emma, how can you even suggest such a thing?"

"If there's any chance that it could get Elizabeth back alive, than we have to consider all out options, no matter how questionable they might be under normal circumstances." She turned to Norrington. "Please, Commodore, just this once."

Norrington couldn't deny that Emma's argument made some amount of sense, but the very idea of asking a pirate for help went against all his principles, not to mention he couldn't imagine cooperating with one of the kind that had destroyed his home and family. "I'm sorry, Em... Miss Swann, I can't allow it. It goes against all my principles."

"Are those your principles speaking or your sense of prejudice?"

James' head snapped up and saw that she was staring at him with eyes that pierced his soul, seeing all that he was trying to hide. She had looked at him many times before, often in a comforting and sympathetic way that was refreshing. With Emma, he never had to wear any masks. He could be James Norrington, not the Commodore that so many knew. It was not often that he felt that he had to hide anything from her penetrating gaze, but right now, her eyes held a look of disappointment and accusation, as though she couldn't believe that he would let his personal loss get in the way of protecting those he cared about. He could tell that he had let her down, and what pained him all the more, was that she was right.

Glancing down to seemingly resume his study of the charts. "I've made my decision, Miss Swann. It's not open to debate."

Emma nodded, "Well than, you must do what you feel is right, of course." That one statement was worse than if she had railed and stormed at him.

Swann, sensing the palpable tension that was between them, decided to do something before an even more embarrassing scene played out in front of the entire Fort. "Emma, my dear, it would perhaps be best if you went home. You need to get some rest."

For once, Emma was glad that her father worried about propriety so much. Se needed to escape James' presence for awhile in order to think clearly. "I would welcome that, father, thank you."

"Mr. Mourtogg," Swann said, waving one of the guards over, "would you make sure that my daughter gets home safely?"

Mourtogg saluted smartly with is bayonet. "I will, sir, you can count on me."

As the two of them began to leave, Emma stopped at James. "Whenever you should decide on a course of action, I should like to be told."

"I shall be sure to let you know once we know which course to set." said James, eyes still focused on the charts, unable to look into the gaze which was boring into him.

Emma knew that he would keep his promise, even if they were in opposition on the point of Jack Sparrow. But it was not just the obvious motivations of concern for her sister that made her what was going on. In fact, she had an ulterior motive that had been fixed in her mind ever since James had started planning Elizabeth's rescue. She knew the he planned to give chase, and she had decided that any if ship which would be leaving, she was going to be on it.

* * *

Next Chapter: Will and Marie form an unlikely alliance with Jack Sparrow, and proceed to steal one ship, to commandeer another.


	11. Chapter 11: An Unlikely Alliance

Chapter 13: An Unlikely Alliance

When Will and Marie found themselves unceremoniously pushed out by the Commodore, Will wasted no time in voicing his opinion of what had just happened as soon as they were out of earshot. "I can't believe it!"

"Will-" said Marie, trying to talk some sense into her brother, which was a difficult task considering that he wasn't even listening.

"Every second they waste means that Elizabeth gets further and further away. They have a golden opportunity to rescue her and they're not taking advantage of it."

"Will, listen to me-"

"Don't they understand that this could be the only chance they have to get Elizabeth back alive?"

Will continued to rant at the Commodore, the Royal Navy, the pirates and everything else that was seemingly keeping him from Elizabeth, and after several attempts to try and cut in, Marie finally grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her, "Will, will you shut up and listen to reason for on moment?"

Only a great fool would ignore Marie when she talked in that way, so he did shut up and he did listen.

"Now," she said, as soon as she was sure that Will was really listening, "I can't honestly say that I disagree with you, but some of what he says does make sense. We have no plan, no idea where they might have gone and after your little display back there, I'm afraid we won't be getting any type of help from the Royal Navy. I can't say that I blame you for your impatience , seeing as how your feelings for Elizabeth are so strong. I also want to help her, but there isn't anything that we can do."

Will had been thinking while Marie was talking, and slowly a resolution that had before been only hinted at, began to solidify. "You're right, there isn't anything that we can do on our own. We're going to need help, help from someone who knows how to give it."

"Will, what are you talking about?"

"I think that it's time we forget about rules and started thinking like outlaws," Marie stared at him, slightly puzzled as to what he was planning. "thinking like pirates."

Marie couldn't believe what she had just heard. He sounded serious, but what he was suggesting was so unlike like him that it very well could have from a stranger. "Will, are you about to do what I think you're thinking of doing?"

Will didn't answer, but turned ad began to walk away, in the direction of the fort's prison. Marie, after looking after him for a moment, could do nothing but follow.

* * *

Captain Jack Sparrow had not spent a peaceful night in the dungeons of Fort Charles. Granted, he had started out calmer than most men would have been if they knew that they were going to executed at first light, but ever since he had heard the canons of the attack and seen the _Black Pearl_ from the bars of his cell, he had become bent on escape.

Being that agonizingly close to her after such a long period was an even worse torture for him than anything that the Royal Navy might have planned for him. She still had the same smooth lines and sleek, black look that had always captivated him. But, even from the distance, he had seen that just how far his ship had sunk. She had fallen into a state of disrepair, her sails ripped and ragged, her deck and masts covered in dust and cobwebs, her black wood no doubt stained darker with the blood of treacherously slain men.

He was in the process of desperate escape scheme, trying to pick the lock to his cell door with a bone. It was little surprise that it was succeeding no more than any of the other plans that he had tried in the course of the night, and he was ready to be sick of the whole thing.

A sudden crash in the stairwell gave him a jolt. Someone was coming. Jack swore silently to himself. So much for being too busy to hang a pirate; the Royal Navy was obviously not to busy to see that his punishment was fulfilled. He quickly let go of the bone and dropped to the floor, trying to exude an air of perfect indifference, as if the last thing on his mind was escape.

Imagine his surprise when what should come down those stairs was not a contingent of red uniformed guards, intent on bringing him to the gallows, but two people who were as far from the Royal Navy as one could get. The were the boy and girl he had met and fought with the day before.

"You there, Sparrow." demanded Will, curtly.

"Aye?" Jack said, raising his head from the stone floor.

"You are familiar with that ship, the _Black Pearl_?"

That was like asking if the fish were "familiar" with the sea. Of course Jack was "familiar" with his ship. But he didn't want to let on so soon that he knew every board of that ship like he knew every bone in his body. Why should this boy be so interested in his ship? Until Jack knew the answer to that, and whether it could be of any benefit to him, he planned to be cautious. "I've heard of it."

"Where does it make berth?"

He didn't seem to be running short of questions and he was quite desperate to learn the answers. Well, Jack might as well draw out that desperation as long as he could, until he found out if there was anything in it for him. After all, the advantage was his.

"Where does it make berth? Have you not heard the stories?" A moment of silence greeted his question. Judging by the blank looks he received from both of them, he had to assume that they didn't. "Captain Barbossa" (he could barely choke out those two words together) "and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Ilsa de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found, except, by those who already know where it is."

Marie clearly saw the knowing glint in Jack's eyes. "Since you speak of it with such authority, might I assume that you are one of the few who know where it already is?"

Jack turned his eyes to look at Marie. "I might not know where it is, but than again I might. It just depends on what price your willing to pay to learn it."

Marie looked at Jack with a raised eyebrow. How many other men, she wondered, would try to proposition a woman from behind bars?

Will's hard voice cut in. "The ship's real enough. Therefore it's anchorage must be a real place. Where is it?"

Jack studied his fingertips in complete unconcern. "Why ask me?"

Will was becoming desperate. This wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally anticipated. "Because you're a pirate."

Jack lifted his head, "And you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?"

Infuriated by that, Will grabbed the bars as if wanting his hands around the pirates throat for even thinking such a thing. "Never!"

Jack dropped his head back down to the stones and began studying his fingers anew. Clearly, he wasn't going to be forthcoming with any offers of help. Will was struggling to keep his temper in check. Obviously, blustering and threats would get him nowhere and everything else had failed. The only option he had left was to reveal the real reason why he was so intent on finding the _Black Pearl._

"They took Miss Swann." he said, seeming embarrassed that he had to be so frank.

"Oh, so it is that you found a girl," said Jack with evident delight, "I see. Well, if you intendin' to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair ladies heart, you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit I it for me?"

While he had been speaking, Marie had begun to look at the doors closely, "And do you see any profit to yourself by just sitting here waiting for them to hang you? she asked, pointedly as she studied the hinges.

She had him there, but of course, he wouldn't admit it.

"Besides," said Will, "we can get you out of here?"

How's that? The key run off."

Marie looked to her brother and realized that he ad gotten the same idea that had occurred to her. "We don't need keys."

"These are half-pin barrel hinges." explained Will, pointing to the hinges of the door, "With the right leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free." While he had been speaking, Will had lifted one of the wooden benches that ran alongside the walls of the prison, and was in the process of positioning it alongside the door.

"They're incredibly weak. Hardly the way to hold a cell that's going to hold criminals. I've told Will a hundred times he should have said something."

"And, I've told you a hundred times they never would have listened."

"That's never stopped you from speaking out before."

Jack hadn't said a word during this whole exchange, but he had been watching the two of them very closely. There was something about these two that was familiar, he was sure of it now. What had just been a shadow of suspicion in the blacksmiths' shop the day before, now was becoming a certainty. There was something familiar in the way that they moved, their quick hands, the way they looked when they were to do something that wasn't necessarily right, and may have been considered by many to be illegal.

"What are your names?" he needed to confirm his suspicions.

"Will Turner. That's my twin sister, Marie."

Will Turner. Jack suddenly sat up and looked decidedly more interested in the conversation than he had been before. "That would be short for William, I imagine. Good strong name. No doubt named for your father, eh?"

Will momentarily stopped what he was doing to look at Jack in slight confusion. Why should he care what his name was, or the name of his father for that matter? "Yes."

So, it was true. His suspicions were confirmed. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, there could be something that he could gain from this after all. "Uh huh. Well, Mr. Turner, I changed me mind." He got to his feet and sidled up to the bars between the two of them. "If you spring me from this cell, I swear on pain of death, I shall take you to the _Black Pearl_ and your bonny lass." He stuck his hand through the bars. "Do we have an accord?"

Will looked at the hand, hesitating for moment, but only for a moment. He didn't know why Jack was suddenly now so eager to help, nor why it mattered what he was knew that there had to be more to this story than Jack was revealing, but he didn't have time to pursue that line of thought. Jack had agreed to help and that was all that he was interested in at the moment. There would be time to probe further into Jack's reasons at another time.

"Will took Jack's hand in a firm grasp. "Agreed."

Jack was satisfied. "Agreed. Get me out."

Both Marie and Will took hold of the bench and began to lever the door off of it's hinges. Their combined efforts made it short work. The door fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Hurry." said Will as Jack duly exited the cell. "Someone will have heard that."

"Not without my effects." said Jack, as he ran to the side of the room where his coat, sword and pistol had been carelessly tossed by whoever had locked him up that morning.

Will couldn't help commenting on the pistol. "Why bother with that?" he asked, wondering why the pirate would still want such a useless item. "You could have escaped before if you were willing kill me before, but you didn't use it."

"Are you advising me that was a mistake?" asked Jack, pointedly as he raised the weapon and aimed it at Will.

Marie and Will both stared at Jack in shock and they both reached for their swords. But Jack was looking to shed blood. He had more important things to get across. He didn't want to have to worry about them constantly reaching for their swords whenever he reached for his own weapon. "When you've only got one shot, it's ideal to wait for the opportune moment. That wasn't it. Now is this." he lifted the pistol and cocked it.

Both Marie and Will looked at Jack closely before releasing the grip on their own weapons. They were willing to trust Jack, at least as far as he seemed willing to trust them. And that seemed as good enough a place to start this unlikely alliance as any, for all of them.

* * *

Making it to the docks of Port Royal was no easy task. It was only through sheer luck and Marie's knowledge of the twisting alleyways of Port Royal that they weren't caught and intercepted.

Once they were in sight of the docks, Jack took over the leadership of the little group as the sea was his territory and what they were planning to do he just happened to be an expert at.

As his quick eyes scoured the bay, he heard Will speak from behind him, "We're going to steal a ship?" Will went silent for a moment when he saw just which ship Jack had focused upon. "That ship?"

The ship that Jack had his eye on was none other than the immense bulk of the _Dauntless_, which was one of the ships that had escaped, for the most part, the scathing of last night's fire fight. "Commandeer." corrected Jack, his eyes never leaving the _Dauntless_. "We're going to commandeer that ship. Nautical term."

"You're insane." hissed Marie, beginning to wonder if they had released the wrong man from prison. "The three of us together can't crew a ship like that."

Jack looked back at her, the grin which Marie was beginning to suspect was his trademark tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I've done a lot of things that people thought were insane. That's why I'm still alive."

Whatever smart remark Marie may have been about to make was wasted when he turned back to look at the docks once more. From what he was observing, the main activity on the docks seemed to be centered around the _Interceptor_, the ship that he had first set eyes on when he had arrived in Port Royal. Seamen were hurrying back and forth, carrying and loading supplies for the voyage ahead. In and amongst them, he saw the blue uniforms of the Royal Navy, including Commodore Norrington. No doubt he was overseeing the provisioning of the ship and seeing to it that all was ready for a speedy departure. If he was going after the _Black Pearl_, than took precedence over fire power. That being so, there would probably be only a few men aboard the _Dauntless_, most likely a simple matter to overcome. The Commodore wouldn't be expecting an attack; at least, not the kind of attack that Jack was planning.

"One question about your business, boy," he said, turning to face Will, "Or there's no use goin'. This girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?" He knew that there would be danger where they headed, and he wanted to be sure that he wouldn't have to deal with a cowardly whelp or a fainting girl if he were cornered.

However, the burning light in Will's eyes left little doubt as to the commitment of his purpose. "I'd die for her."

"And do you share that sentiment?" Jack asked Marie.

"Don't worry about me, Captain. I'm not one to turn all swoony when danger threatens. If anything can be done to save Elizabeth, I'll face what needs to be faced."

"Oh, good." said Jack, as he turned back to the bay, "No worries, than."

* * *

No on was watching the shore to closely. That was hardly a surprise. After all, there had been other things going on, and a line of small, none-descript boats were hardly _worth_ noticing in the face of a pirate attack. However, to anyone who would have been watching those boats closely, they would seen a rather strange sight. A soon as the coast was clear, one of the boats suddenly sprouted three pairs of legs and began crab-walking down to the shoreline, where it proceeded to disappear beneath the surface. A strange sight, indeed, one that would have caused normal people to blink and wonder if they had just witnessed an hallucination.

But as it was,the sight had hardly been a random event. It was all part of a clever master plan that had been formed inside the fertile mind of a pirate named Jack Sparrow.

As he, Will and Marie walked along the bottom of the bay, the air bubble captured inside the boat giving them something to breath, they were in the process of sneaking up on the navy's blindside.

"This is ether madness or brilliance." grumbled Will, who hadn't been to keen on this part of the plan.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits co-inside." quipped Jack.

Marie just rolled her eyes and kept walking. no doubt Jack Sparrow considered himself to be a prime example of that last statement.

Fifteen minutes later, three figures were clambering up the stern of the immense _Dauntless_. As they climbed over the side, they saw a scant number of sailors, their activities on deck being supervised by Lieutenant Gillette; Marie recognized him as Commodore Norrington's second-in-command.

The backs of all were turned on the impromptu boarding party and it came as somewhat of a surprise when Jack shouted, "Everyone stay calm. We are taking over the ship."

"Aye, avast!" said Will, his sword drawn and pointed at the crew. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to sound gruff and threatening, Will only succeeded in looking and sounding utterly ridiculous.

The sailors and Marines laughed when they saw the pathetic boarding party. "Will, I think that you said the wrong thing." whispered Marie."

Gillette, a patronizing smile plastered in his face, came forward and said, with no small amount of contempt, "This ship cannot be crewed by two men, and that woman certainly does not possess the intelligence to be of any use whatsoever. You'll never make it out of the bay.

Jack smiled suavely. He drew out his pistol and pointed it directly at Gillette's face, "Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he unlocked the pistol and the smug look on the lieutenant's face began to wilt ever so slightly. "savyy?"

Perhaps it might seem odd that Gillette chose to hand over control of the _Dauntless _at that particular moment and without anymore fight. But than again, one must never underestimate the power of a loaded pistol pointed directly in the face of a commanding officer to achieve one's own ends. In other words, the subtlest hint, can achieve the biggest goal.

* * *

The mind of Commodore James Norrington was working on his plan for rescuing the lady of his dreams. He had ordered the _Interceptor_ to be made ready immediately after the attack, as he knew that speed, not powers would prove to be the deciding factor in rescuing Elizabeth. He had some tentative idea of what course to set, but how he was going to actually rescue Elisabeth was a problem that he had yet to determine how to solve.

He was so deep in through that he didn't notice Lieutenant Groves standing beside him until the young man said, "Commodore."

James looked up at Groves, slightly confused, until he heard the distressed shouts coming from the bay. Putting aside his maps, he withdrew his spyglass and peered through it.

What greeted him was the sight of Gillette and the small crew who had been working on the_ Dauntless_ all crammed into one of the flagships' longboats. "Commodore," Gillette was shouting, "Sparrow and Turner, they've taken the _Dauntless_."

James quickly turned the spyglass to the deck of the _Dauntless_, and sure enough, there was Sparrow and William Turner, as well as the latter's sister, Marie. Young Turner was proving that he knew nothing about dropping canvas, while Sparrow, by his flailing arm movements and shouting, was trying to correct him, with limited success. Marie was watching them both with an exasperated look on her face. Finally, having of enough of their antics, she scurried up the lines herself and began to correct the error.

"Rash Turner." commented the Commodore. who had hoped that he wouldn't have one more problem to deal with that day. But it seemed that Mr. Turner was intent on hampering his efforts. Unfortunately for Turner, he wasn't doing a great job. "Too rash. That is without doubt the worst pirate I have ever seen."

He nodded to Groves and they both headed for the_ Interceptor_. It appeared as though the Commodore would have to take care of one more thing before he could concentrate on rescuing Elizabeth.

* * *

On the _Dauntless, _all was ready. At least, as ready as everything could be in such a state with a such a ship. Marie had been right. there was no way that the two of them could possibly be able to outrun the Navy on such a ship as the _Dauntless_, which had only just begun to lurch out of the bay. With the _Interceptor _on their tale, this rescue mission would be over before it even started.

Will appeared to have come to the sane conclusion for he turned to Jack, who was standing by the wheel and said, "Here they come."

Jack turned to look at the _Interceptor_, which had just lowered it's sails and was already catching up to them. Instead of looking worried, he merely grinned confidently. Everything was going as planned.

* * *

The _Interceptor_ drew up beside the _Dauntless_in a far shorter time than Commodore Norrington had expected it too. As planks were lowered between the two ships and sailors began swinging on the _Dauntless' _deck, Norrington took a quick scan of the deck, he could no sign of the three miscreants. Well, he could change that soon enough.

He was issuing orders almost before he finished crossing the space between the two ships. "Search every cabin, ever hold, down to the bilges. Inform me the very moment that they are found."

In the commotion of so many people going from the _Interceptor_ to the _Dauntless_, nobody seemed to notice the three people who swung across from the _Dauntless _to land on the deck of the _Interceptor_. And nobody seemed to hear the twanging of the taunt ropes which a sharp axe made quick work of. In fact, nobody seemed to notice that the _Interceptor _was moving away from the _Dauntless' _side, until it was too late.

Norrington, not surprisingly, was the first to realize that something was amiss. Pausing in his stride, he chanced a look back and when he saw what was happening instantly shouted, "Sailors, back to the _Interceptor, _Now!"

But it was too late. One brave sailor did try to swing the gap between the two ships, but only succeeded in landing in the water with a splash.

Jack was standing at the wheel of the _Interceptor, _a big grin beaming on his face. His hat was proffered to the Commodore in a mock salute. "Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way. We'd 'ave 'ad a hard time of it by ourselves."

Norrington was fuming as he realized what Jack Sparrow had been planning all along. The plan was so fiendishly simple, it hadn't even occurred to him. Jack Sparrow had been planning to steal one ship, to commandeer another. And he, James Norrington, had blundered straight into it.

"Set topsails and clear up this mess." he said to Groves curtly as he mounted the steps to the stern.

Groves, confused by the unexpected order tried to object. "With the wind at quarter astern, we won't catch them."

Norrington cut off his lieutenant with a curt reply. "We don't need to catch up, just get them in range of the long nines."

Groves followed his superior, though he still felt rather unsure of the actions that he was taking. "Hands, come about. Run out the guns." As the order was duly carried out, Groves said in a soft voice, "We are to fire on our own ship, sir?"

"I would rather see her at the bottom of the ocean than in the hands of a pirate." replied Norrington in a steely voice.

"Sir," came the voice of the steersman at the wheel, "he's disabled the rudder chain, sir."

Norrington turned to look at the steersman in shock. Almost as soon he had done so, loud cries of surprise caused him to look back in the direction of the _Interceptor,_ which had just smashed the longboat which contained Gillette and the rest of the men which had formally been on the _Dauntless_, sending them all into the water.

Norrington looked down and sighed in evident frustration. He had could hardly believe that he had just been outwitted by a pirate, a blacksmith and a woman. Who would have ever thought such an unlikely alliance would have been able to succeed so well.

Groves was looking after the swiftly departing _Interceptor_, with a look of pure admiration on his young face. "That's got to be the best pirate I've ever seen?" he said, an ironic echo of the words that Norrington had spoken not fifteen minutes before.

And though Norrington may not have liked it, he had no choice but to agree. "So it would seem."

* * *

Next chapter: Two separate voyages start, in pursuit of seemingly the same goal, but where will they ultimately end up? Good question. Stay tuned and find out.


	12. Chapter 12: Voyage's Start

Chapter 14: Voyage's Start

The _Interceptor_ was well under way, her pure white sails were stretched taut under a stiff eastern breeze and she was making good time over the Caribbean's turquoise depths. However, Will and Marie would have felt a little better about this whole situation is they had known just where exactly they were going. So far, Jack hadn't told them where they were headed.

Marie Turner had to confess herself that not even she knew what to expect from Jack Sparrow, which was a trifle annoying, as she wasn't used to being uncertain when it came to men, especially men like Jack. Perhaps, that was the problem. She was having trouble remembering if she had even ever encountered a man like Jack. Just when she was sure that he was mad, he had pulled off scheme that could only be described as ingeniously brilliant. She wasn't sure whether or not he could be trusted. The only thing that she was sure of was that it would take more than a few days to figure out just who Jack Sparrow was.

Whatever her feelings on the subject of Jack Sparrow might have been however, she was intent on finding out just where it was they were going.

"So tell me, Sparrow," she said once it was certain that they had definitely outrun the Royal Navy, "Would I be right in assuming that we're going to reach landfall by sometime tonight?"

Jack, who had been tending to the wheel turned and looked at her in astonishment. "How did you..."

"Simple logic. You might be abnormally clever, but I defy you the ability to be in so many different places at the same time. We're going to need a full crew at some point if we have even a hope of standing up against the _Black Pearl. _Given the fact that there are a number of pirate ports in these waters and the speed at which this ship is going, I'm assuming that we'll be at our destination by tonight."

Despite himself, Jack was impressed that she had caught onto his scheme. Not to mention that little untangling of the ropes that he had witnessed her doing so deftly in Port Royal. There was more to this lass than met the eye, that was for certain. "Where did you learn so much about the sea?"

Marie turned and stared at him, and since the first time that he had met her, Jack thought that he detected a softening in her expression. It was ever so small, and not many would have probably noticed it. It was sad, almost vulnerable, as if she replaying some very dark memory from her past. And as swiftly as it had come, it was gone. "I learned it from my father, when he was around to teach me anything, of course."

"What do you mean by that?"

Instead of replying right away to the question, Marie stopped what she was doing and looked out to sea, obviously distracted by something that was unseen and that seemed beyond Jack's ability to understand. "Nothing," she said, almost embarrassed, "never mind."

Jack wasn't one to give up so easily; once his curiosity was piqued, he went to great lengths to satisfy it. Since Marie (that was the girl's name, he might as well use it), was proving to be no treasure trove of answers, he turned to Will and asked, "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Will looked compassionately at Marie, who had returned to her task with renewed energy, as if trying to forget that the entire incident had ever happened. "Our father was never home very much while we were growing up. He tried to be there as much as he could, but we only saw him on rare occasions." Will went back to sharpening his sword. "When we were children living in England, our mother raised us by herself. After she died, we came out here, looking for our father."

"Is that so?" Jack's voice was distracted, as if he was hoping that by not showing interest, he could bring the conversation to a convenient close.

Unfortunately, Will wasn't willing to let the subject at hand go quite yet. "Our father, Bill Turner." He said, as Jack passed him to go up the stairs and Will followed him, continuing to speak as he went. "At the jail, it was only after you learned our names that you agreed to help us. Since that's all I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack, you knew our father."

Jack, who had been tying down one of the lines, knew that Will wouldn't be satisfied until he got a full answer. So, now he had a choice: He could lie, which he was accustomed too, or he could tell the truth. He would have preferred to lie, however he couldn't see in this instance that a lie wouldn't be any less painful than the truth. Besides, he suspected that Will was attentive enough to know if he were lying or not.

So, at last, he turned to Will and said, with surprising sincerity. "I knew 'im. Probably one of the few who knew as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill."

Marie's ears perked up when she heard the name Bootstrap Bill. She had also gone up the stairs to the wheel to hear the conversation better. For some reason, the name struck her as both familiar and strange. She couldn't understand why her father would choose to go by another name than the one that he already had.

The name apparently baffled Will as well. "Bootstrap?"

Jack didn't look at either of them when he said the next thing, which would undoubtedly be the bombshell. "Good man, good pirate." he turned back to look at Will. "I swear you look just like him."

Complete shock rooted Marie to the spot for a moment. Her father had been a pirate? She had had always wondered, especially as she had grown older and thought back to the few memories that she had of her father, if there was some bigger secret to his frequent absences than she and her brother may have been told, but she had never gone so far as to think him a criminal.

Will, however, never seemed to have doubted their father. "It's not true." he denied vehemently, 'He was a merchant sailor, a good respectable man who obeyed the law."

Jack rolled his eyes in complete exasperation at Will's almost naive insistence against the truth. "He was a bloody pirate. A scallywag."

"My father," Will growled, drawing his sword in a flash and pointing it at jack, "was not a pirate."

Marie closed her eyes, hoping for patience. For all that she loved Will, she very often wished that he would learn to get rid of that bothersome honorable streak in his character that caused more trouble than it was worth. Like now for instance. Wanting to fight a duel of honor with a pirate, who had proven he was more than ready to cheat to get what he wanted, was not exactly the smartest thing that she could think of him doing at the moment.

Jack, however, seemed totally unfazed. He didn't even deign to look at the hot blooded young man. "Put it away, son." He said, making it clear from his tone, that not did he not wish to fight, he also considered him no threat whatsoever, "It's not worth you getting beat again."

"You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you."

Jack turned to face him, "That's not much incentive for me to fight fair than, is it?"

Suddenly, Jack turned back to the wheel and gave it a mighty heave to the right. It was so completely unexpected, that Marie barely had time to duck to avoid the sail which came barreling right over the top of her. Will, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky. The sail slammed into his chest, forcing him to drop his sword and dragging him across the deck, over the side of the_ Interceptor, __and him_dangling precariously above the sea.

Jack ignored the stunned expressions on the faces of the twins. Striding to pick up the sword that had fallen from Will's hand, he picked it up and pointed it at Will, who had a death grip on the spar of wood.

"Now, as long your just hanging there, pay attention." Jack's whole demeanor had changed. He was in earnest, serious, as if passing along some fatherly advice to a rebellious son. "The only rules that really matter are these: What a _man_ can do, and what a man _can't _do. For instance you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man, or you can't." He turned to Marie, whose hand had moved toward her sword, looking at her in evident mistrust. "And you can choose to trust me to honor our original accord, or you can't. But pirate is in your both your bloods, and you'll both of you have to square with that someday." Turning back to Will, he began to slip back once more into that drunken persona that Marie had always seen in him from the start. "Now, me for example, I could let you drown. But I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by my onesy, savvy? and I can see just by lookin' at her that Mss Turner will not be at all happy to follow my orders if I end up killin' her beloved brother. so..." Jack once more heaved on the wheel and the sail finally swung back into place, depositing Will safely back on the deck once more. "Can you sail under the command of a pirate," asked Jack, as he held the blade to Will's throat, before flipping the weapon, caught the weapon by the blade and presented it back to Will, "or can you not?"

Will tentatively took back the sword, and with it, offering his agreement to Jack's command of the operation. Satisfied with Will's response, Jack turned to Marie, her eyes arms crossed and her eyes still slightly suspicious. "And you?"

Marie came a few steps closer to Jack until they were literally standing nose to nose. "Aye, Captain." she said, at last. However, something unspoken also passed between her and Jack. She only trusted him up to a point and she wouldn't be afraid to show it.

The girl had nerve, Jack couldn't deny that. But just as long as the two of them understood each other, she could do whatever she pleased. "Than, we're all agreed."

"And our heading?" asked Marie.

"Already told you, dearie"

"Tortuga?" questioned Will.

Jack grinned, evidently delighted with that one single spoken word. "Tortuga."

* * *

Back at Port Royal, Commodore Norrington may have been delayed, but he had by no means been stopped. It had but taken a few hours to rework what he had at first planned, and the rescue mission for Elizabeth was now back on course.

He was, of course, setting off a bit later than he would have liked, and it had not just been the obvious robbery of the _Interceptor_ which was responsible for that. James had also had another unforeseen challenge arise in the form of the Governor. Weatherby Swann had absolutely insisted that he be allowed to accompany the Commodore on the rescue. James had tried every single objection he could think of to dissuade him, but Swann had stubbornly stuck to his purpose and no amount of talking could shake him from it. The Commodore had finally relented, but only on the condition that the Governor was to be strictly an observer on board the_ Dauntless_, and that James, and James alone would be the one giving the orders, essentially, his authority superseding that of the Governor. That may have seemed extreme, but James wanted it to be perfectly clear whose orders were to be followed. That would be easier to do if the Governor himself weren't shouting in a panic which could ultimately lead all of them to destruction. As much as he respected Governor Swann, James knew that he would be of no use if it came to a fight.

And when that was taken care of, James thought that everything was ready. However, little could he have suspected that he would not be able to set sail, until he had taken on another passenger.

The final supplies had been loaded onto the ship and James, his Lieutenants Groves and Gillette, along with Governor Swann were getting ready to disembark in the _Dauntless' _longboat, when the rattling of a carriage coming over the coobblestoned streets towards the docks caught everyone's attention. They all turned, only to see the Governor's carriage come rumbling around the bend and come to a stop at the docks. James looked at the Governor, who shook his head; he obviously had no idea what his personal carriage could be doing at the docks at that particular moment.

And all were ever more surprised when who should step out of the carriage, but Emma Swann. The normally expensive dress that denoted her high position in society had been replaced by a simple blue dress, which looked simple to move in and appeared to have no type of corset. She also carried a bag that looked like it contained two or three more dresses of the same type that she was currently wearing. She said a few words unintelligible to the driver, who nodded, before driving the carriage away, leaving her standing in a small cloud of dust. Picking up her bag, she turned and started walking down to the docks, or more specifically, to the longboat.

James turned to Swann, and said in a low voice, "Did you know she was coming?"

Swann shook his head. "No. I thought that we had already said our farewells."

"Apparently, she doesn't think so. Stay here, Governor. I'll deal with this."

James met Emma halfway to the boat. "Miss Swann," he asked her, cutting the formalities, as he knew that he didn't have to stand on convention with Emma. "what are you doing here?"

Emma, however, instead of responding in her usual straightforward manner, said in a pleasant tone of voice that seemed to have no bearing whatsoever on the present situation, "Good afternoon, Commodore. I do hope that I have not arrived too late."

"Please, Miss Swann, this is no time for lightness. You have already said goodbye to your father and there isn't any need to see him off. There is no reason for you to be here."

"Actually, I have every reason for being here, Commodore. If I weren't here, than it would be rather hard for me to come along."

James stared at Emma in open-mouthed shock. She was dead serious, for all her seeming gaiety on the manner. He knew for a fact that Emma wasn't one to pull such a prank and certainly not at a time like this; it was not in her nature to do so.

"Emma, you can't come. It's far too dangerous."

"I'm willing to take that risk. And besides, you're taking my father with you."

"Yes, but he's-"

"A man and I am a woman. I am perfectly aware of that, Commodore. But there is no difference. I intend to carry myself as any man would."

"That's not what I meant, Miss Swann, and you know it. I'm already being asked to be responsible for one additional life, besides the lives of my crew and your sister. Please don't ask me to add one more to that number."

Emma's face softened, but she was determined to go. Her voice was soft, but firm when she next spoke, "James, we are wasting time with all this talking. I understand your concerns, but understand this, for I am only going to say this once. I am going to give you two choices: You can either welcome me aboard freely as a guest, or you might as well save yourself undue trouble, and arrest me now."

"Arrest you? Emma, that is hardly necessary."

"Oh, but it is, James, and allow me to explain why. I do believe that the punishment for stowing away onboard a ship of the Royal Navy is imprisonment. I intend to go with you, whether you allow me to or not, and if you don't allow me to go with you, than I _shall _find some way to get onboard. If you choose to try and keep me here, than I shall be forced to sneak aboard the _Dauntless _by covert means; And if that be the case, than I just thought that I would spare you the trouble of searching the entire ship for me. However, since I would hate to see such a barrier thrown between us, it would perhaps be better to welcome me onboard freely as a guest. Those are your choices, Commodore, either welcome or arrest."

James opened his mouth to say something, but her frankness was such that he couldn't think of anything _to _say. Despite all reasonable and logical argument that should have stood in his way, he found that he had been backed into a corner. Granted, he should have been able to dismiss such an argument quite easily had it been anyone else, but the woman standing before him was hardly anyone else; she was Emma, patient enough to be as unyielding as a brick wall. She would be able to wear him down, with an argument that would have sounded foolish from anyone else, but which coming from her lips, made perfect sense. He had seen it and experienced it before. There was no doubt, in an argument with Emma, he would be sure to lose.

Finally, he stepped to the side and gestured to the waiting longboat, as if he were welcoming her to his home, "In that case, Miss Swann, welcome aboard the _Dauntless."_

_"_Thank you, Commodore Norrington." she said, curtsying gracefully, almost as if he had just asked her to dance with him, instead of allowing her to come along on what was a potentially dangerous mission. Such was the ease with which the two entered into and out of conversation.

All that remained was for him to escort her down to the docks, where they had only to overcome the objections of Governor Swann which was not so difficult to do. And than it was only a short time later that the _Dauntless_ weighed anchor and set off on its mission to rescue Elizabeth Swann.

And so it was that two voyages started, both with seemingly the same goal, but their ultimate destinations would not be the same. For this voyage would prove to be a journey which would bring more than a few people to their ultimate destinies.

Next chapter: TORTUGA! The town that every pirate needs to visit at least once and a town that Marie and Will are going to get introduced too. What sort of things will happen when these two unlikely pirates in training are thrown into such a mix? We'll find out next time.

* * *

Next chapter: TORTUGA! The town that every pirate needs to visit at least once, and a town that Marie and Will are going to get introduced too. What sort of things will happen when these two unlikely pirates in training are thrown into such a mix? We'll find out next time.


	13. Chapter 13: Tortuga

Chapter 15: Tortuga

Deep in the turquoise blue waters of the Caribbean, there was an island, an island that, through untold eons of evolving, had formed itself into the shaped of a turtle. The Spanish name for this island was "Tortuga," but depending on who one asked, it could be called several other, very different things. To the religious minded, Tortuga was the equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah, a den of godless thieves, ruffians and debauchers. To those of a more liberal mind, it was a mere referred to as a rather dirty and unpleasant place, to be avoided at all costs. The opinion of the Royal Navy was out of sight, out of mind, since they did nothing to try and stop Tortuga's growth as it seemed like too much trouble. However, if you happened to be a pirate, The island of Tortuga was a little bit of heaven on earth (indeed, the only taste of heaven that some of those godless thieves, ruffians and debauchers would be able to experience).

In streets crowded with brothels, taverns and ale houses, a pirate could find more than enough to occupy his time. The air was thick with the smell of smoke, ale and sweat, a perfume savored by any true buccaneer. The streets rang constantly with the sounds of fighting and swearing, so it was impossible to ever find a moment's peace; and there was no other song that sounded sweeter to a pirate's ear. In short, to quote the famous words of a very wise man, "You would never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." and every pirate who came to Tortuga loved it just that way.

Tortuga also just happened to be the place where all manner of out of work sailor went to look for some form of employment, be it by fair means or foul. Because of this, Jack knew that he would be able to find what he was looking for in Tortuga. And what he needed were sailors who were crazy enough to undertake the venture that he was planning. And besides, Tortuga was like a second home to him when he wasn't on the ocean. And he always enjoyed having a little stint on the island.

Will and Marie, on the other hand, weren't nearly as excited at the prospect of setting foot in Tortuga. Will hardly felt comfortable around one pirate; what he might do when he found himself surrounded by them there was no telling. As for Marie, she was not exactly thrilled at visiting Tortuga, but if this was what they had to do to rescue Elizabeth, than she would have to put up with it. Besides, without her, either Jack or Will, being, as they were, men, might get into trouble. Moreover, she didn't entirely trust Jack. While she may have determined that she would follow his orders as much as her conscience would allow, until he proved himself trustworthy (which he hadn't yet, in her opinion), she wasn't letting him out of her sight.

They arrived within sight of land as soon as the sun was setting over the sea. In the city, the lights were already blazing brightly, as if life in Tortuga only started once the sun had gone down.

"Drop anchor in the bay, not to close to the docks." Jack ordered once he felt that they were close enough.

"Why?" asked Marie, slightly puzzled, "Can't we dock like anybody else?"

"No, of course not. If we dock, with no one to guard the ship, it might not be here when we get back. Well made and fast ships like this one can be tempting targets to those who have made a living out of not resisting temptation, and in case you haven't already figured it out, the populace of this island are overqualified to fit in that category."

Marie glanced at Will as Jack started climbing into the lifeboat that had been lowered a few minutes before. They were beginning to wonder if they had bitten off more than they could chew.

"After you." said Will, indicating the longboat.

It didn't take them long to row from the _Interceptor_ to the docks of Tortuga. As they began to get closer to the city, the more distinctive the sounds that were coming from within the environs of Tortuga; needless to say, it was a very different experience approaching this pirate infested city than it was approaching a place such as Port Royal. The sounds of fighting, brawling and gunshots could be heard almost as soon as they entered the outer edges of the bay. And, as they drew nearer, both Marie and Will raised their eyebrows at the frankly colorful language they were hearing. But Jack didn't seem to be in the least bothered. In fact, the loser that they came, the more excited he seemed to become. He soon launched into a description of the various positive aspects of the island, as if he envisioned Tortuga to be a sort of utopia on earth. Half of what he said, neither Marie nor Will listened too.

They docked, and in due course found themselves in the thick of the infamous city of Tortuga. And the farther that they went into the city, and the more that Marie saw, the more she became convinced that the outrageous stories she had heard of Tortuga had, in fact, been underexagerated.

The air seemed to have more gun smoke than oxygen in it, and it didn't seem to make any difference to the city's inhabitants, who were engaging in their onshore hobbies (which were basically shouting and fighting), with as much gusto as they would their raiding and pillaging on the high seas. However, despite the rather noisy surroundings, Marie had to admit that the complete and utter lack of anything even closely resembling the suffocating order and decorum or Port Royal society appealed to some part of her own free spirit.

Jack didn't seem to notice the rowdiness that was surrounding them. He seemed perfectly at home, as he continued on the subject that he had started on in the longboat, "And moreover, it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep the sweet, proliferators bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy?" while he was saying this, a woman threw the contents of a chamber pot out a second story window. Marie barely had time to dodge out of the way of its splattering contents.

"Sweet and proliferators indeed." she muttered as she wrinkled her nose at the offending odor.

Jack didn't notice. Two men tumbled past them, locked in a death struggle over some inconsequential matter. Jack nimbly caught the large staff that one was using as a club on the other. Gesturing with it grandly, he swept his arm across he scene, as though it were some great work to be admired (nay, revered), when all that Marie and Will saw was a dirty and loud street. "What do you think?"

Will glanced around him, as did Marie; Their eyes settled at their feet, where a completely drunken pirate was drowning two cups of rum at the same time. The supply of those two cups was never-ending as he just happened to be nestled between two barrels of rum that had been shot through with bullet holes and were now poring out the amber colored liquid like water from a fountain. He looked like he was in heaven, but to Marie and Will, it was hardly an attractive picture.

Will turned back to Jack. "It'll linger." was the noncommittal answer he gave.

"In more ways than one." concurred Marie.

"I tell you, mate," said Jack, without noticing how little enthusiasm the two young Turners felt about Tortuga, "if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted.

"You mean there is a place in this world where you're wanted for something other than a hanging offence?" asked Marie, rather skeptically.

Jack looked like he was about to answer, but he suddenly caught sight of an approaching woman with flaming red hair, one of the many prostitutes that plied their trade in Tortuga.

Jack seemed to recognize her and he looked utterly thrilled to be seeing her. "Scarlet!"

Scarlet, however, was definitely not thrilled to be seeing Jack. She greeted him with a hard slap across his face, before she turned and stomped away, steam practically boiling out of her ears, she was so angry.

Jack seemed slightly dazed from the encounter. "Not sure I deserved that."

"That's a matter of opinion, of course." Marie whispered to Will, but loud enough so that Jack could hear also.

Jack shot her a glare (which she didn't acknowledge or seem troubled by in the least), before he began walking forward once more, only to be confronted by another woman, this time a blond, another prostitute that Jack knew from by gone times. "Giselle."

Unfortunately, though the blond was smiling, she was hardly happier to see Jack than Scarlet had been. "Who is she?"

"Wha'?" and Jack could go no further because she too had a slap for him.

Jack found himself facing Will and Marie again. "I may have deserved that."

Marie wondered if there was anything that Jack would openly admit that he deserved but she thought better of it. Instead, she said, "So, tell me, Jack, just how many women are there on this island?"

"Almost more than can be counted. It's a pretty lucrative trade for them down here. And they are pretty good at it."

"I'm sure they are. But would you mind telling me how many of them happen to have a personal vendetta against you?"

Jack grimaced, looked back at the way that Scarlet and Giselle had gone before turning back to Marie, "Why do you ask?"

"Only if all of them are intent on getting their revenge in the way that those two charming ladies just demonstrated, than you won't be in any condition to help us find a crew, much less rescue Elizabeth."

Jack took a moment to consider this, before saying, "Darlin', you're well-put and incredible succinct point is very well seen."

They continued on thorough the plaza, which was filled with shouting, fighting, drinking and all other manner of debauchery and illegal enterprises that were to numerous to mention.

Jack's manner had become completely business-like. "We should escape this wretched pit as quickly as possible." Marie couldn't help but notice the contrast between this statement and the way it was spoken with Jack's previous manner. It was a far cry from the paradise on earth that he had been painting of Tortuga just a few moments before.

"With a crew." Will reminded Jack.

"Ah, yes. Well, it just so happens that you know the man who knows the man who knows the finest sailors in all Tortuga."

Jack disappeared into one of the taverns, called The Faithful Bride, followed by Will and Marie, who were no more of sure of this course than they had been before.

It took only a few minutes for Jack to learn whatever it was that he needed to learn from the owner of The Faithful Bride, and he led the two twins around the back of the tavern, where it was decidedly quieter, but smelled a great deal worse, than the front as it just happened to be the location of a pig-sty. Three large and dirty pigs were sleeping contently in the mud, and also, much to Will and Marie's surprise, a man that was using one of the pigs as a pillow. At first glance, it was hard to say if the overpowering smell came from the pigs, the sty or the man. Marie was wiling to bet that it was an unsavory mixture of all three.

Jack gave only this scene a cursory glance, as if he was used to it. "Drunk, as usual." was all he said, as he moved toward the well and began drawing out some water.

A few minutes later, Joshamee Gibbs received a rude awakening when a bucket of ice cold water was splashed all over him. He came awake with a start, as did the pigs, who snorted in indignation at having had their nap interrupted, and he seemed no less angry at having been woken up. A dagger was in his hand immediately and he screamed in a gravely voice, "Curse you for breathin', ya slack-jawed idiot!"

The vapors of sleep, combined with a hangover that he had probably only half gotten over, took him a moment to recognize Jack. But once he had, he smiled and put the blade away. "Mother's love, Jack. You should know better'n to wake a man when he's sleepin'. It's bad luck."

"Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it." Jack came toward Gibbs, speaking as he went, "The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

Gibbs' face was blank for a moment as he tried to figure out what exactly Jack was trying to say, but than his eyes brightened. "Aye, that'll about do it."

Jack offered him a hand, and helped him to his feet. Unfortunately, once he was up, both Will and Marie also lobbed him with their own buckets filled with water. Thoroughly soaked by this time, he screamed at them irately, "Blast ya! I'm already awake!"

"That was for the smell." answered Will, nonchalantly.

Gibbs, considering this for a moment, smiled sheepishly. "I see your point."

"Well, you've certainly changed places in the world since the last time we met." said Marie.

Gibbs looked at Marie, "I beg your pardon?"

"Don't you recognize us? Eight years ago, the two orphaned twins that were taken aboard the _Dauntless_ during it's crossing of the Atlantic?"

Gibbs looked closely at the two of them for a second before his eyes lit up with recognition. "William Turner? Marie? Is that you?"

"Apparently." said Will, who had himself just recognized the crusty old sailor who had taken the two of them temporarily under his wing, like some protective old uncle, eight years before.

"Well, by the powers, it's good to see you. How did you find yourselves caught up with this scoundrel of the seven seas?"

Jack, who didn't like the fact that there was a conversation going on in which he had no part, looked around as if looking for someone, "Who are you talkin' about Gibbs? Ya can't mean me; I'm more the gentlemen of fortune."

Marie gave him a calculating look, "Yes, I'm sure that's what you love to think of yourself as."

*******

The inside of The Faithful Bride resembled the inside of a typhoon that had gone bad. Rum and other types of strong alcohol that pirates lived on more than water, was flowing freely and the consequences of such unrestrained drinking on the part of the pirates was being clearly demonstrated. Fighting, shouting, swearing the fires of guns and tables being knocked over made it almost impossible to think. Even more distracting was the way some of the patrons of the Faithful Bride insisted on playing cat and mouse with the wenches of their choice, and vice versa.

However, despite the chaos that was surrounding her, it didn't prevent her keen eyes from following Jack wherever he went. After he had so vehemently forbidden both hers and Will's presence in the conversation between him and Gibbs (claiming that it was a pirate manner and the two of them wouldn't understand any of it), any trust she might have had for Jack was wavering, not that it had ever been very strong in the first place. Now, more than ever, she was beginning to suspect that Jack had an agenda all his own, one that meant very little in the way of any profit for them. She was now determined that she wouldn't be turning her back on him.

Jack, having just ordered two drinks from the bartender, was now making his way back through the crowd to them, completely unruffled by the cacophony of noise and motion around him. He stopped at Will's side and said, "Keep a sharp eye." he turned to Marie, "And you, missy, keep close. There's any number of villainous men with a lascivious manner lookin' for a pretty maid such as yourself to warm their cots for the night."

Marie gave him a glare that would have melted steel. "Don't worry about me, captain. I have plenty of experience warding off the attentions of unwanted parasites. I suggest that spend your time worrying about protecting yourself from all the women on this island that want to strangle you."

Jack normally wasn't one to be left without a sharp retort; in fact, he was most always the one who won in any sort of battle of wits. Now, this woman that he had hardly known for two days had left him with no ready answer. What annoyed him even more was that she seemed to do so without any effort whatsoever. She just went back to watching the crowded room and didn't even give him a second glance.

Finally, Jack gave up trying to come up with some sort of witty answer and walked over to where Gibbs was sitting, at one of the back tables, where it was relatively more peaceful than the rest of the tavern. As he went, he threw a glance back at Marie. "Women." he muttered irately under his breath.

But he didn't see the subtle shift in the angle of Marie's face, as she turned her eyes to watch Jack and tuned her ears to what he was saying. She was determined not to miss a word of what they would tell each other.

Jack sat down at the table, and spent the next few seconds considering which mug he would give to the still partially drunk pirate. He seemed to start to give first one mug and than the other, Gibbs becoming more impatient with the whole process until Jack at last handed him the smaller of the two mugs.

Just as they were about to start drinking, Jack noticed the overeager look that was shining in Gibbs' eyes. "Just the one."

Gibbs clutched the glass tighter to him as he said with a wise smile. "Best make it last than, eh?"

They both drank and than Gibbs immediately got down to business, "Now, what's the nature of this venture of your'n?"

Jack paused, seeming to wait just long enough for Gibbs to take a drink before he dropped his bombshell. "I'm goin' after the _Black Pearl."_

Gibbs choked and coughed. He stared at Jack, wide-eyed with shock and unable to speak. "I know where it's goin' to be, and I'm gonna take it." Jack continued. He seemed utterly confidant of his chances of accomplishing such a seemingly impossible task, which made Marie even more suspicious than she had been before.

Gibbs was doubtful, "Jack, it's a fool's errand. You know better'n me the tales of the _Black Pearl_."

"That's why I know what Barbossa is up too. All I need is a crew."

Gibbs smiled humorlessly. "From what I hear tell of Cap'n Barbossa, he's not a man to suffer fools, nor strike a bargain with one."

Jack was completely unconcerned. "Well, I'd say it's a very good thing I'm not a fool than, eh?"

"Prove me wrong," demanded Gibbs, who was getting tired of Jack's flitting around. "What makes you think Barbossa'll give up his ship to you?"

A sly glint came into Jack's eyes and he smiled secretively. Marie knew that kind of look. She had worn it many times before herself. It clearly meant that Jack was up to no good. "Let's just say it's a matter of leverage, eh?"

When Marie heard this, she whispered to her brother, "Will."

Will had only been listening with half an ear to the conversation, but that last sentence certainly caught his attention, as did Marie's warning. He too turned his head to stare at both Gibbs and Jack with no small amount of suspicion.

Gibbs was apparently clueless as to what Jack was implying. He stared at the pirate captain blankly, forcing Jack to nod emphatically at Will and Marie several times. After a few seconds, Gibbs finally got the message and turned to look at them. He still seemed a bit confused as he turned once more to look at Jack, "The kids?"

Jack nodded, smiling, "Those are the children of Bootstrap Bill Turner." The confusion in Gibbs' eyes began to turn slowly to comprehension, as Jack continued. "His_ only _children, savvy?"

"Are they now?" said Gibbs, as he finally understood what Jack was telling him, and he grinned almost as wickedly as Jack. "Leverage, says you." he said, his tone changing, "I think I feel a change in the wind, says I. I'll find us a crew; there's bund to be some sailors on this rock, crazy as you."

Jack grinned and took up his tankard of rum. "One can only hope. Take what you can..."

Gibbs returned Jack's salute. "Give nothin' back." They struck their glasses together and drained them, thus sealing a bargain that would condemn two innocent lives.

That, at least, was it looked like to Marie. She had no time to consider that it might mean something else, for as soon as Will heard the mugs being slammed against the table, his nerves, would tight already by his surroundings, snapped.

Swift as lightening, he drew his sword, and kicked over the nearest table. The sudden commotion caused even the normally raucous atmosphere of the tavern to come to an instant stop and everyone stared at the young whelp, who was whirling on anyone that moved.

"The kid's a bit of a stick, isn't he?" commented Gibbs.

"You've no idea." replied Jack, in the way of a tired parent, "And that girl, his sister, is, in some ways, even worse." Marie chose to ignore that comment, only because she didn't want Jack to think that she had been eavesdropping.

As if someone had flipped a switch, everyone in the tavern suddenly all begun dancing, drinking and shooting. The noisy atmosphere was restored, as though it had never been interrupted.

"You couldn't put your guard down for one minute." Marie said to her brother, who looked rather sheepish and embarrassed.

"If in had a good answer to that..." he said, who, in truth, didn't and both if them knew it.

Marie flashed a brief smile, but it faded when she said in a low voice, "Will, about Jack..."

Will stopped her with a raised hand, as he saw that Jack was approaching them with his customary swaying gait. "Later." he said. They couldn't run the risk of Jack having discovered that they had overheard what he had said.

Marie turned and saw that Jack was coming. Instantly knowing what Will was saying, she whispered back, "Right."

Jack apparently had caught nothing of what had passed between them, nor did he suspect that they knew what he had said to Gibbs. "I suggest that we should get back to the _Interceptor_. We've been gone a little too long for my liking."

"And the crew?" prompted Marie.

Jack sighed in frustration. This lass was beginning to get on his nerves. "Like in said before, luv, Mr. Gibbs happens to know some of the finest sailors in all of Tortuga. He's going to do the rounds tonight, give his usual recruiting speech, and we'll have a crew by tomorrow. Now, if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you would show a little faith in me and my capabilities. Let's not forget who's been a captain for the past ten years."

"And let's not forget the ones who helped you escape from prison and certain death so that you could get back to doing what it is you do so well." Marie shot back.

"Marie." said Will, who was becoming just a bit uneasy with the way that this argument was going.

However, the two didn't even seem to hear him, or for that matter, notice him. "Are you implying that in don't have your best interests at heart?" asked Jack.

"I'm not implying that necessarily," said Marie, coldly, "I'm merely saying that I'm not sure whether the interests you have for yourself may be just a little higher in your estimation, than the ones you have for us."

"That's enough." said Will, forcefully enough this time that both Jack and Marie stopped and looked at him. "That's enough of your fighting. If you want to keep on doing so, at least wait until we're underway; Than you can fight when you have nothing else to do. But now, we have more important things to think about. Remember that."

A moment of silence followed this statement, in which both Jack and Marie stood nose to nose, glaring at each other, each unwilling to back down. Finally, however, Marie broke the staring match and said to Will, "Fine, Will. I suppose that you're right, as usual." Turning back to Jack, she merely gave him one last stare, before turning on her heel and turned on her heel and began to push her way through the crowd.

Jack watched her go, and he found that she was actually disappointed that the argument had ended been so quickly. He wouldn't have minded if it had gone on a few more rounds. He had not met many women before who could match him in words, or make him feel intimidated for that matter. In a short time, Marie had done both, and frankly that idea worried him, and, though he wouldn't admit it, also fascinated him.

Will's voice broke into his thoughts, "You got off easily. Marie can be very forceful in an argument when she wants to be."

Jack thought of Marie's smoldering blue-green eyes and roasting glare, and knew that Will wasn't exaggerating. "Tell me, William, is she always like this?"

"No." said Will, and waiting just long enough to see that look of relief cross Jack's face before adding, "Sometimes, she can be even worse."

Jack's had snapped around to stare at Will in unspoken shock and slight nervousness. Will merely shrugged and began moving off after Marie. "This is going to e a long voyage." muttered the infamous pirate captain, as he followed Will and Marie into the crowd.

***********

Marie pushed her way through the crowded inhabitants of the tavern, rather too lost in thought to pay her usual close attention to her surroundings.

Will had been right to step in before she had all and out accused Jack of planning to betray them. She knew that it would have brought an end to an already tenuous alliance and their chances of finding Elizabeth would have been ruined.

But that was not the only reason why she was relieved her brother had stepped in. There was something about Jack that was different from any other man that she had ever met. Try as she might, she could not bring herself to completely hate Jack Sparrow, as she might have done any other man in the same situation. Despite herself, and she never would have admitted it, there was something about Jack Sparrow that appealed to her free spirit, he refused to be frightened of her when most men after one exchange with her anther her sharp tongue and turned tail and run. But, he seemed to always be coming back for more without twitching an eye, and he was always able to match her at every turn. She wasn't used to that a she didn't know how to respond about that, but she would have been a liar if she had said that she didn't enjoy it. How a man could manage to be so utterly charming and yet so utterly annoying all at the same time was a question that she couldn't answer.

She was so lost in though about the riddle that was Jack Sparrow that she wasn't able to see, and therefore avoid the hand which suddenly snaked around her waist, and she was brought back to reality when she heard a slurring voice shout out. "Hey boys, like wha' I managed to drag in."

Marie was pulled down into the lap of a man she had never seen and one look at his ugly, drunken face made her wish that she hadn't had the unfortunate experience of seeing him at all.

The man, whose name was Johnson, and his friends were all sitting in a group; and all of them were in different stages of apparent intoxication. They all laughed and hooted, thinking it a very funny joke that their mate had just pulled.

"Ha! Looks like you've got the best catch tonight, Johnson." shouted one of his companions.

Aye, she's got to be the prettiest one here." concurred another, "Don't suppose you'd be willin' to share?"

"Don't count on it. I have the best luck at sea, and on land, and I ain't one to share when fortune smiles upon me on land." He turned his attention to Marie now, slipping an arm about her waist and groping his way over her body in what was for her a thoroughly distasteful manner. "So, tell me, my little siren, do you happen to have a name?"

Marie's temper had been operating on a short fuse all evening, and this latest assault was doing nothing to improve her mood. "My name," she replied coldly and through clenched teeth, "is no business of yours."

"Oh ho, I've got me a spirited one 'ere." chortled Johnson. He was too drunk to pick up on the obvious warning signs that Marie was growing increasingly dangerous. "Just the way I like 'em. What's say we start with my name then, eh?"

"I don't care what your name is now," said Marie, "but it's going to change into something worse than mud if you don't let me go this instant."

She tried to get up, but Johnson pulled her back down. "Oh come now, we only have just started getting aquaintanted. My name's Johnson, you've 'eard of me I'm sure. I'm the dashingly handsome cavalier of the _Sea Talon_, perfectly capable both on sea, in battle or especially in bed."

Marie had heard enough. "All right, you've asked for it and begged for it, so now you're going to get it."

In a move so fast it was a mere blur to the eye, Marie twisted herself out of his grasp and delivered a sharp right hook across Johnson's face.

The unfortunate Johnson fell heavily to the floor, blood dripping from his nose. For the second time that evening, all activity within the Faithful Bride came to an abrupt halt, and this time, all attention was focused on Marie. She barely noticed, her blood was pumping and her temper was roused. "I wouldn't suggest that you mistake a pretty face for an easy target in the future." she said coldly, to the heap of Johnson on the floor.

Johnson managed to stagger to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot with sudden rage and drinking, and he looked truly frightening. To Marie, it was just another feature of his ugly face that made him even uglier. It didn't take much to faze Marie. "You're gonna regret that." he roared drunkenly.

Marie grinned, beginning to feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. She suddenly had the feeling that she was going to enjoy this. "Come on, give me your worst."

Johnson launched himself at her with an angry snarl, but she side-stepped him easily. He stumbled, turned and threw a wild punch. Marie ducked, rolled, and tripped him. There was no place for Johnson to go but down once more.

That seemed to set off a chain reaction in the Faithful Bride, as fights immediately broke out between men who were completely unassociated with anything that had just transpired, but than again, pirates loved to fight and an excuse was rarely, if ever, needed. Marie was in the thick of it, kicking, punching and throwing combinations at a dizzying speed.

Jack and Will, who had been trying to find Marie in the crowded room, had no difficulty finding her once the brawl started. Jack looked at Will and saw that he wasn't making any move to enter the fight, but was rather watching the unfolding drama with an amused smile on face.

"Mate, she's your sister. Aren't you goin' to help?"

Will's smile only widened. "When she's fighting with two swords, she's an expert in hand to hand."

Jack unconsciously winced as he heard someone's skull crack against the stone floor, after another hard hit fro Marie. "Ah, so you're sayin' she doesn't need help?"

"She'll just get annoyed. I've tried doing it a few times and she just yells at me. She prefers to do these things herself, until I have to step in."

Marie was having the time of her life. She had never been in such a big fight before. Whoever would have thought that it could be so fun? That feeling, however, only lasted as long as she was grabbed from behind by Johnson, who had sneaked up on her blind side and was now angrier than before. Marie tried to wrench herself free from his grasp, but it was no use. "Now, we'll just see how much of a fight you're willing to put up."

Off to the side, Will saw that Marie had stepped further than she was able to get out of on her own. "Now is where I step in." He said to Jack, as he drew his sword and entered the fray without so much as batting an eye.

Marie was struggling uselessly against Johnson's grip, but it was no use. Johnson was grinning evilly, obviously thinking of the awful things that he would be doing to Marie." You're lucky that I'm planning to be so easy on you. I've done much worse things to men than what I'm about to do to you."

"You'll have to go through me first." said a familiar voice behind them. Johnson, surprised by the voice, turned his head, only to be met with a sharp thwack across the face by the hilt of Will's sword.

The distraction was all that Marie needed. Instantly, she jerked out of Johnson's grasp and elbowed him in a convenient place between the legs. Johnson doubled over in agony. Marie punched him hard in the face. Johnson ended up on his knees, too dazed to fight anymore. And since he more or less had no idea as to what was going on around him, he didn't see the bottle heading his way; but he felt it hit him on the side of the head and he immediately blacked out.

Marie looked at Will, the half shattered bottle of rum that she had snatched from one of the brawling pirates still clutched in her hand. "I don't envy the headache he'll be having when he wakes up." she commented.

"I can agree with you on that point." Will replied. "Now, that you've made your point, do you think that maybe we could get out of here?"

"But I was just starting to have fun?"

"I know, and that's what worries me. Now, come on."

Marie had to admit that Will was probably right. After all, it might be a good idea to make a graceful exit before they were fighting against numbers that they would have no chance of competing against.

"After you." she said, gesturing to the door.

As everyone was still in the thick of the fighting, it was an easy task to slip through the crowd and meet up with Jack and than inconspicuously slip out. Meanwhile, the brawl would continue for a very long time, as the pirates of the Caribbean (AN you expected the name to be in here somehow, didn't you?) proved true once again, that if you were a black-hearted buccaneer, the island of Tortuga was paradise on earth.

* * *

Well, I sure hope that everyone enjoyed this story. It might be a few more days before I can get another chapter, but don't despair, I haven't abandoned this story, or the many lovely people who have chosen to read it.

Next chapter: Next chapter: we meet the wacky recruits that Gibbs has rounded up, plus a few more little filler bits.


	14. Chapter 14: New Plans and New Crew

Chapter 16: New Plans and New Crew

There would be no more obstacles to stop Will, Marie and Jack from getting back to the _Interceptor_ in one piece. However, for Will and Marie at least, there was a decided feeling of tension that was growing between them and Jack. Now that they knew Jack's true plans for them, the fragile truce that had developed between them had crumbled. Jack seemed to think that everything was still ship shape, but Will and Marie through secret glances and unspoken agreement that the two of them would have to come up with some of their own plans to counter Jack's own.

When they arrived back at the ship, Will and Marie retreated below decks on the pretext of getting some rest, but in reality to talk about what they should do next. Only when they were alone, did Marie allow herself to give full vent to her feelings. The former contempt she had felt toward Jack had before been mixed with grudging respect. Now that respect had been replaced with utter disgust and anger, indeed, her opinion could almost be said to approach the downright murderous. "The nerve of that man." She said, as she paced angrily up and down the tiny cabin which she and Will were occupying. "I cannot believe that he led on this far without having any intention of helping us in the first place."

"Marie, keep your voice down. He'll hear you."

"I don't care if he hears me. The way I feel right now, if he were to come down here, I would make him regret that he ever considered betraying us."

"Marie, just be quiet and calm down." Said Will, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her to sit down beside him on the bunk. "If he comes down here and suspects something, than we might as well give ourselves up right now."

Marie sighed. She hated it when Will made her see the folly of her actions. "Than what do you suggest we do? Sit here and wait for him to deliver us into their waiting hands?"

"No, that was not what I was thinking."

"Than enlighten me, what is your own clever plan for getting us out of this situation?"

Will looked down, mildly embarrassed. "To be honest, I hadn't thought that far ahead yet. But I do know that we can't let Jack know that he heard him. It's true that we shouldn't wait for him to do anything, yet we still need him. He's the only one who knows exactly where Elizabeth is. Without him, we won't have any chance of saving her, at least not until after she had been killed."

"So, the best course of action is to sit back and wait for him to lead us to where we want." Will nodded. "I hate waiting." She muttered.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Marie seemed to consider, than shook her head. "No. What do we do after?"

"We'll deal with that when we become to it." said Will, "for now, I think that we need to get some sleep. You want the bunk or the floor?"

"I'll take the floor. You can have the bunk for the first half of the night. We can change places later."

"Good enough for me." Said Will, as Marie moved down to the deck, and settled herself on the floor.

"Just be sure that you wake me up." Said Marie, "if I wake up tomorrow and I'm still on the floor, then, I'll…"

"You'll what?" prompted Will, after a moment of silence.

"Well. I don' know yet, but you'll be the first to find out and you won't like it."

Will laughed, "Are you sure that Jack is really the one we should be worried about?"

Marie hit her brother on the knee in good-humored annoyance. "Good night, Will." She turned away from him and lay down on the deck, falling asleep almost immediately.

"Good night, Marie." Will reply, softly. He himself held off sleep for awhile longer as he watched his sister. He loved her so much. Even though they were twins, a deeper connection than normally binds brother and sister seemed to hold them together. Will felt that he would be incomplete without Marie. She often laughed at this sentiment, but Will knew that she felt the same way. Ever since they had lost their parents, they had known, even at the beginning that they would only have themselves and each other to rely on. Without each other's support, they would have given up yeas ago. And for that reason, because he loved her so much, he couldn't and wouldn't allow any harm to come to her.

Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, he said, softly so as waken her, "I promise you, Marie, that you will be safe, whatever happens, no harm will come to you." With that, Will allowed his eyes to drift shut, and it was not long before, he too, was asleep.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning, Will, Marie and Jack left the _Interceptor_ floating at anchor, to see how Gibbs had done in his recruiting task. The results, at first glance looked to be anything but promising. The group of sailors were little more than a rag tag mob, none of them looking like they would know how to keep a toy boat from sinking, much less sail a ship anywhere.

Gibbs, even if he though the same thing that was going through Will and Marie's mind didn't show it. "Feast your eyes, Cap'n. All of 'em faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt, and crazy to boot."

"So this is your able-bodied crew." Said Will, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

Jack didn't say anything in response to this. He went down the line, studying each man intently before moving onto the next one. Finally, he stopped at one of them, a wizened old sailor that had a brightly colored parrot perched on his shoulder. "You, sailor."

"Cotton, sir." Clarified Gibbs.

"Mr. Cotton,' said Jack officiously, "do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and sty true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Cotton was looking from Jack to Gibbs, a blank look on his face. He still didn't respond to Jack's question. "Mr. Cotton," Jack demanded, "answer man."

Gibbs quickly interposed on Cotton's behalf. "He's a mute, sir. Poor devil 'ad his tongue cut out." Cotton opened his mouth to illustrate what Gibbs was saying. Jack opened his mouth and rolled his tongue around, as if trying to comprehend what it was that Cotton had gone through, and Marie and Will tried hard not to be slightly mortified by what they were seeing. Gibbs continued. "So, he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figgered how."

Jack took a few moments to collect himself. He was apparently embarrassed at the idea of talking to a parrot. "Mr. Cotton's parrot," The parrot swiveled its head to stare at Jack with its beady black eyes. "Same question."

"Awk, wind in your sails! Wind in your sails!" squawked the bird.

Will and Marie traded confused glances and Jack seemed equally mystified. "Mostly we figger that means yes." Explained Jack.

That answer seemed to suit Jack just fine. "Course it does." He turned to Will and Marie. "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proved they're mad." Commented Will, irately.

"Will, are you forgetting who we sprung from jail?" asked Marie.

Will was saved from replying when an unexpected voice piped up from the end of the line. "And what's the benefit for us?" the voice was distinctly feminine, which, in the mostly male world of piracy and in the line of men right in front of them, was a little unexpected.

Jack crept his way carefully down the line until he came to a sailor whose face was covered by the brim of a wide hat. Jack, almost cautiously, lifted the hat off the head of the person who had spoken. Long, black hair, chocolate skin, and the beauty of a woman's face was what the Caribbean sun revealed. Another thing that the light revealed was that this particular member of the sex was obviously angry at someone or something, and Marie was willing to bet that she knew who it was that this woman was mad at.

Jack seemed to know her, and his reaction certainly confirmed Marie's thought that the two of them had parted on less than friendly terms. "Ana Maria."

SLAP!

Marie was more or less correct. The slap delivered was more powerful that the ones he had received from Scarlet and Giselle the night before as it caused Jack to be driven back a few steps.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either." Stated Will, in evident sarcasm.

"No," said Jack, "that one I deserved."

"Well, I'm glad to see that you admit you deserve at least something." Said Marie.

Ana Maria flashed a self-satisfied smile behind Jack's back. She was quite proud of herself. But the angry scowl instantly came back to her face once Jack had turned back to her. "You stole my boat." She accused him vehemently.

"Actually-" Jack began, but he didn't get any further in his explanation as Ana Maria slapped him another one across the face. She didn't seem to be in a mood to listen to any type of excuse that Jack could come up with. Jack had to take a few minutes to recover before trying again. "Barrowed, barrowed without permission." Trying to sound his most charming, though he seemed to be trying to cover his fear of Ana. "But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't!" hissed Ana, causing Jack to recoil even more.

"I'll get you another one." Jack tried once more.

Ana stuck a finger threateningly in Jack's face and Jack instantly became silent. "I will."

Marie had to work hard to keep herself from bursting out laughing. The situation was comedy itself. Jack had never showed any fear up until now. And now he was cowering under the fury of a scorned woman.

Will, sensing that a slaughter was about to take place, quickly offered helpfully. "A better one."

Jack was obviously grateful for any help from any quarter. "A better one."

"That one.' Said Will, pointing in front of Jack's face, out to the bay beyond.

"What one?" said Jack, turning to Will in confusion.

Will nodded to the bay. Jack turned to look and so did all the other pirates at the same time, seeing where the _Interceptor_ was riding at anchor.

"That one?!" shouted Jack, turning back to Will, as if the boy were insane.

As if on cue, all heads turned from the _Interceptor_ to Jack, all faces expectantly staring at him. "Well, Jack," whispered Marie, "if you can't bear to part with the _Interceptor_, I'm sure that these good gentlemen and lady, would be more than willing to lessen the pain of the separation, in their own unique way."

Jack seemed to consider this for a moment, than he brightened and said, "Aye, that one. What say you?"

A resounding chorus of "Ayes" greeted this announcement and a moment later, there was a general commotion as the pirates began to gather up their few meager belongings and crowding to be the first to get in line to the longboat. Ana Maria, however, hung back for a moment, just long enough to grab her hat from Jack and, after shooting him a glare, she followed the example of the other newly enlisted crewmembers.

Gibbs, when it became evident that Ana Maria fully intended to go along with them and that nothing would be able to dissuade her from that determination, scurried over to Jack and said, nervously, "Oh, no, no, no, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir."

"Than you'd better get used to us, Gibbs," Said Marie, "because you won't be able to get rid of either of us."

Gibbs looked at Jack in obvious desperation; the idea of _two _women onboard at the same time seemed enough to send him into shock. Jack was looking distractedly up at the sky and it was rather impossible to tell if he had heard Gibbs or not. "Oh, let 'em be, Gibbs. It would be far worse not to have them." He than turned and without saying without anything further and sauntered back to the longboat.

Will, Marie and Gibbs turned to look up the in the direction that Jack had been scrutinizing a moment before. "What was he findin' so interestin' about this direction, I wonder." Said Gibbs.

Marie looked at Gibbs, evidently surprised that he had even asked the question. "Can't you tell? There's a storm coming. Jack probably wanted to know for sure which direction it would be coming in."

"A storm?" echoed Gibbs, who clearly doubted what she was saying.

"There can't be a storm coming," said Will, "There's not a cloud in the sky."

"There are other ways to tell if a storm is imminent. The wind was still this morning. Now it feels like it's picked up from the South-east. The air feels very heavy, too. The conditions would be ideal for a storm to come in sometime tonight. As a seaman, Gibbs, I'm surprised you didn't catch the signs any sooner. Now, if you'll excuse me." She headed back to the longboat.

Both Gibbs and Will stared at her with open mouths. Marie had delivered the whole speech with such offhand familiarity that neither knew how exactly respond at first. Finally, all Gibbs could do was shake his head and say, admiringly, "Ye've got quite a sister, there, will."

Will, who was proud of Marie despite himself, simply nodded, grinning, "I know." It was the only thing that he needed to say.

* * *

Well, there is that chapter over with. It's kind of a short chapter, but don't worry the next one will be longer. In fact, it's going to be doubly long because there will be two different chapters posted at the same time. Those will be coming along very soon, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, read and review.

Coming up next: the journey to the Ilsa de Muerta begins, and Will and Marie find out a few interesting things about Jack's past, things that the wily pirate captain has neglected to tell them.


	15. Chapter 15: The Storm

Here are are the next two chapters for Pirates of the Caribbean. Happy Late Thanksgiving.

Chapter 17: The Storm

While Gibbs, Will and everyone else may have doubted (or even laughed) at the seemingly preposterous idea that a storm would grow from such a fine day, as it turned out, the predictions of both Jack and Marie would prove to be true.

Within the space of eight hours, the tranquil weather was replaced by a storm of monumental proportions. The wind screamed and howled like a sea demon from the unearthly depths of the ocean. Lightening flashed more brightly than a thousand suns, but the blinding light lasted no more than a second, before the crushing jaws of the darkened sky devoured it once more. The lightening was closely followed a moment later by a deafening crash of thunder, as if the sky itself were being torn to pieces.

Down on the storm-tossed sea, huge waves, some which seemed as high as mountains, rose and fell, causing the _Interceptor_ to role and pitch like a child's toy. The screaming, angry wind stretched the sails nearly to the bursting point. In all respects, it was a miracle that the ship was still afloat.

Marie however was not sure how long their luck would hold out. They had been riding the waves too long even for her liking. She was so wet, that she had given up any idea of being dry again. She could only be glad that she hadn't gotten seasick or been thrown over the side.

Jack had given strict orders that the sails should still be left down to catch the strong storm winds. Now, they were struggling to make sure that the sails didn't burst under the stress of being exposed to the full force of the wind.

As she, Will and Gibbs struggled to make fast the sails, an immense wave suddenly exploded over the side, washing over the rails and flooding onto the deck, soaking an already wet-through crew.

Marie was knocked off her feet by the sheer force of the wave. She was carried to the other end of the deck where she slammed into the rails. It was only through pure chance and luck that she wasn't carried a bit further over the side and into the roiling waves.

Will and Gibbs were also carried along with her. They all managed to struggle to their feet. Staggering blindly back to where they had been working, they began to haul the sails once more.

"How can we sail to an island that no one can find," shouted Will, over the wind, "With a compass that doesn't work?"

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north," Gibbs shouted in response. "But we're not tryin' to find north, are we?"

The _Interceptor_ gave another great lurch and Marie and Will just barely managed to hang on.

Jack was at the wheel and had been looking at the compass to get his bearings, now realized that it was his first priority to make sure that the _Inceptor_ actually stayed afloat. Shutting the compass, he gripped the wheel with renewed force. Gibbs came staggering up the stairs. "We should drop canvas, sir."

But Jack resisted the idea. "She can hold a bit longer." With the wind blowing as strongly as it was, they had the best chance to catch the _Black Pearl_.

Another wave caused the _Interceptor_ to heave and lurch, the groaning of timber reached their ears.

Gibbs, normally one to trust Jack's seemingly insane reasoning, had come to the point where he had finally had enough. "What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Cap'n?"

Jack didn't notice Gibb' obvious irritation at the moment; He was in his own element, exhilarated by the sheer power of the storm around him and the prospect of completing the impossible by riding it out against all odds. "We're catching up."

* * *

Hours later, the storm had finally blown itself out. It came as a relief to nearly every member of the crew when Jack gave the order to head below decks and leave the rest of the steering to him, which was the most logical thing to do, as he was the only one who knew where they were supposed to be going.

Shortly after dawn, both Marie and Will joined Jack on deck, Jack looking as fresh as a daisy, even though he had probably gone for the last two days without sleep. Marie wondered how that was even humanely possibly, but thought that it would be better if she didn't ask.

"When will we get there?" asked Will.

"Patience, William. We'll get there in a few hours time. If it's any consolation, Elizabeth or whatever her name is, is mostly still live."

"Most likely?" repeated Will, "That's a great comfort, thank you. If she's not though, than I'll kill them all." said Will, who was obviously enraged at the thought of Elizabeth still in the vile clutches of the pirates who had captured and he being unable to do anything about it.

Jack cut a sidelong glance at Will. Perhaps he should warn them about the curse, they at least deserved to know what they were getting into. After all, they wouldn't be of any use to him if they were dead. He told himself that he wasn't warning them for any reason but that.

"Are you sure that you want to do that, mate?"

"Of courses, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, besides the fact that you would be hopelessly outnumbered, surrounded and cut down within the space of five seconds, you must take into consideration the fact that you won't be facing normal pirates."

"What do you mean?" asked Marie, "Why should these pirates which we are about to face be any different from any other pirate, such as say, you?"

"Well, besides the fact that all of them lack my dashing good looks and sense of honesty and honor, though they may be cruel, demented, vicious pirates to be certain, have you ever considered that they might be cruel , demented, vicious pirates who cannot be killed?"

Both Will and Marie looked at Jack with blank expression. Clearly, neither of them had a clue what he was talking about. Jack sighed. "Look, Barbossa and his crew are under a curse. They're been under it for the past ten years. It's why they make berth at this island and this island only. The Isla de Muerta is the resting place of the Treasure of Cortez. Ever 'eard of it?"

"No." said Will, who looked and sounded as if he were impatient for Jack to get to the point. "Should we have?"

"Well, perhaps not, considerin' your upbringin' an' all, but the long and short of the matter is that the Treasure of Cortez is cursed."

"Cursed in what way?" It was Marie who asked this question.

"It has damned Barbossa and his crew to the fate of the undead. Barbossa and his crew can't be killed, but they can't be counted among the livin' either. They can't feel, they can't eat or drink. They're little better than walking skeletons, which is what they are when the moonlight shines on 'em."

"And you really expect us to believe this?" asked Will, with obvious skepticism, "How do we know that it's not a story you made up?"

"I don't think he's bluffing on this one, Will." Said Marie.

"Well, it's comforting to know I'm finally getting' into your good graces, luv."

Don't be so sure of that yet, _Captain_. If I hadn't seen something to back up what you just said I would have been skeptical as my brother is right now. But what you've said suddenly makes everything fall into place."

"What do you mean?" asked Will.

"When the pirates attacked the fort, you remember that we became separated. I found myself trying to fight off at least two or three pirates on my own. In the scuffle, one of them managed to grab hold of my arm while my back was turned. When I looked down, there wasn't a human hand holding onto me, it was a rotting bone. But the pirate himself was still a man, in all his disgusting pirate glory. I fought them a long time, and I was sure that I had delivered at least two killing blows to each of them, but they just wouldn't die. I only just managed to escape with my life."

"Now that you mention it," said Will, "I encountered a few pirates that I was sure I had killed." He turned back to Jack, "Are you saying that these pirates can't be killed?"

"Nope. Not until the curse is lifted, which is why I can guarantee that Elizabeth is still alive"

"Why?" asked Will.

"Because they think they need her blood to help them life the curse. You know, the blood of a virgin and all that."

This statement was greeted with nothing short of horror on Will's part. "You mean to tell me that they intend to kill her?"

"Not kill her, so much as take the amount of blood that they need from her while still keeping her alive."

"And than what would they do with her?"

"You're a pirate who's basically been little more than an inanimate object for the past ten years, follow that line of thought to the logical conclusion and you tell me what they might be plannin'."

Will seemed to be virtually robbed of his voice when he heard this. "Now, don't worry, mate. Like I said, Miss Swann is still alive and if my calculations prove to be correct," he said as he checked the compass, "we'll be able to get there in more than enough time to before anything should happen to her, trust me."

Before either of the twins could respond, a call suddenly came from the crow's nest. "Land ho!"

The call brought a scramble of men on deck, as Will and Marie turned to see a black smudge of land becoming ever more visible against the early morning sky. Marie looked back at Jack, who looked rather pleased with himself. "There see, I told you."

"Do you tell life exactly what you want it to do and expect it to obey," asked Marie, "or are you just incredibly lucky?"

"I don't claim to have complete command over life," said Jack, "But I do claim to have an uncanny talent of seeing what life is going to do and than always using it for my own advantage."

"As we have had proof." Said Marie, "Which is just another way of saying that you are lucky, and perhaps dumb luck at that." With that last scathing remark, Marie turned and left.

"I can see that your sister was never one much for the rules of society." Observed Jack.

"No, she never was." Said Will, "You would do well to avoid lecturing her. But, Jack let's have one thing straight before this whole thing goes any further. I'm still not entirely sure that I can trust you. Do with yourself what you like, but remember this. Marie is the only family that I have left; she is dearer to me than anything on earth. She is all I have. If she is hurt or killed during this rescue and if you are in any way responsible, I promise you that no matter where you go, no matter where you hide, the farthest shores of the sea will not be enough to hide from me."

Jack, who hadn't been prepared for the sudden serious change in Will's demeanor, found it hard to maintain his normally flippant attitude. "Now, don't be hasty, Will. I don't have any intention of bein' Marie's death sentence or Elizabeth's for that matter. The world would be that much less of a beautiful place without them." Will's face twisted with anger and he took a step forward, as though he wanted to kill Jack for what he had just said and Jack was barely able to stop him with his next words. "But, if it will make you feel any better, I promise to you here and now that by the end of this little adventure, both Marie _and _Elizabeth will be safe."

"Do you mean that, Jack?"

"Every word, mate."

Will regarded Jack with a look that was filled with dire warning. "You had better keep to that promise, Jack, for I will hold you to it. Break it, and nothing will protect you. That is my word, and even if you break your word, you may depend on me to keep mine."

With that, Will turned on his heel and stalked away. Jack was left to try and recover himself after Will's blistering tirade. He had, of course, been threatened more times in the course of his disreputable career than he could count, but never, or, very rarely, had they struck him so to the core. He knew very well that Will was serious and somehow he knew that he would be a fool indeed, if he any way earned Will's enmity.


	16. Chapter 16: Revelations

Chapter 18: Revelations

An hour passed slowly. The blob of land on the horizon came ever came closer, until the _Interceptor_ had sailed behind a concealing curtain of fog, which hid the Isla de Muerta from the rest of the world.

Almost the instant that the _Interceptor_ had passed over into the fog, a distinct change settled over the crew. The first thing noticeable was the silence, an eerie, unearthly and throbbing silence. The silence was such that even the smallest creak that the rigging made was audible nearly ten times over. The clammy wind, which every man was sure that had not been there present before, moaned through the rigging, sending chills down the spine. There could be no doubt that the waters into which they had sailed were by no means ordinary.

The first loud crack brought everyone to the sides to look out into the sea, only to see the towering hulks and splintered masts of dozens upon dozens of wrecked ship; some of them looked as if they had been there for years, dashed against the rocks of the narrow passage. The other ships looked as if they had been wrecked by scraping against the shattered bows of the ships that had gone before them. It was nothing less than a chilling sight.

The minutes passed slowly and in silence. No one could find the will to get back to their duties, so absorbed were they by the grisly sight before them. They just stood, staring out at the graveyard of ships.

A voice eventually broke the silence. It Cotton's parrot, intoning the old pirate adage in an eerie voice, "Dead men tell no tales!"

Marie thought that was a pretty accurate description what she was seeing.

"Puts a chill in the bone how man honest sailors have been claimed by this passage." Said Gibbs, grimly. The twins looked at each other in silent agreement.

Marie cast a glance at Jack, who was standing calmly at the wheel, looking and acting as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. A deep groaning sound echoed through the silence, and the ship rumbled. They had hit a large mast or a broken bow of a ship beneath them. Then and only then, did he close the compass and begin concentrating on steering the _Interceptor _through the dangerous obstacle course of broken ships.

Will noticed the compass. It was time that he got some answers about Jack. "How is it that Jack came by that compass?" he asked Gibbs.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I'd met 'im. Back when he was Cap'n of the _Black Pearl._"

Will and Marie looked at Gibbs; both of them were obviously shocked. "What?" said Will? Gibbs, who was taking a drink from his flask, choked. He had apparently been unaware that he may have revealed more than he should have.

"He failed to mention that." Said Will, as he looked at Jack.

"And something tells me that it wasn't a random lapse of memory." Murmured Marie.

"He plays things closer to the vest now," said Gibbs, who figured it was best to keep going even if it seemed to have hit on a touchy subject. He wouldn't be able to back out of it, in any case. "and a hard learned lesson it was. Ya see, three days out on the venture the first mate comes to 'im and says, 'everythin's in equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure, too.' So, Jack gives up the bearings." Gibbs shook his head, his voice grim as he continued. "That night, there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left 'im to die. But not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

"Ah," said Will, thoughtfully as he looked back at Jack, "so that's the reason for all the…" Will jerked his head back and flayed his arms slightly, imitating Jack's odd manner of moving.

"Reason's got nothin' to do with it." replied Gibbs cryptically. He sat down on one of the bulkheads and gestured for the twins to join him. "Now, you two, when a pirate's marooned, he's given a pistol with a single shot, one shot. Well, that won't do much good for huntin' nor to be rescued, but after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol'd start to look real friendly." He held up two fingers to his head in order to demonstrate his meaning. "But, Jack, he escaped the island and he still has that single shot, he won't use it though, save on one man, his mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa." Said Will, as the truth slowly began to dawn on him.

"Aye." Said Gibbs, in such a way that made Marie know that he thought Barbossa would not be able to escape Jack's revenge once he had the evil man cornered.

"How did Jack get off the island?" Will asked, since that was the only piece of the puzzle that was missing.

"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows, and he waited three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came acclimated his presence." Gibbs was warming to his topic and he delivered the next part as if it were the ultimate punchline. "Now on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple o' sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft."

Dead silence greeted this statement. Both Marie and Will looked at Gibbs, not entirely sure is they had heard that last part right.

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" questioned Will, who clearly didn't believe a word of what Gibbs had said.

"Aye, sea turtles."

"What did he use for rope?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to respond and than shut it again as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. Obviously he had never thought of that bit before. Approaching footsteps interrupted their conversation and all three of them turned to see Jack standing over them. "Human hair." Said Jack, as if that were the only logical answer to the question, "from my back."

Marie rolled her eyes at Jack's shameless self-promotion, as Jack roared out an order to the crew. "Let go the anchor!"

"Aye, the anchor, aye!" the crew shouted back obediently, broken from their trance-like state of staring out at the endless graveyard of broken ships. They seemed grateful for any task at all that would take their minds off the grisly sights around them.

As the crew scuttled around him, Jack's gaze remained on Will and Maire, "Young Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore."

Marie stood up and took a step toward Jack. "Don't think that you're leaving me behind, Captain."

"Now, luv, there's really no need for you to come along, too. Me and your brother will be quite capable of-"

Marie cut him off. "Maybe you didn't hear me right." She stepped forward and her face and Jack's were only a few inches apart. "I'm coming with you, Captain, and there is nothing that you'll be able to say or do that will keep me from doing so."

Jack saw that Marie's eyes were bordering dangerously on sapphire green. He had no desire to stock the fires of that rage again. It would obviously be fruitless to argue with her, "Fine, then. Consider yourself part of the landing party."

He walked toward to longboat, but Gibbs stopped him. 'Cap'n, what if the worse should happen?"

Jack stood silent for a moment as he considered the question in what was almost a grim manner. "Keep to the code."

"Aye." Said Gibbs, in concurrence," the code."

Will and Marie weren't able to say anything, but a look at each other was all they needed to confirm they were thinking the same thing. Jack Sparrow was planning more than his words were speaking. He had obviously worked something out for the two of them, something that would be less than pleasant. They sensed that they were swiftly approaching a crossroads, and the time was coming when they would have to strike out on their own against Jack Sparrow. Somehow, both Will and Marie knew that the next few hours could very well be some of the most important of their lives.

Little did they know just accurate that premonition would turn out to be.

* * *

Well, there it is, the next two chapters. I sure hope that these were worth the wait.

In the next chapter, we witness their adventures on the Isla de Muerta. Will Jack really betray Will and Marie to their grim fate? Will they betray Jack? Or will something else entirely happen that will change the entire course of the move? Well, you can only find out by continuing to read.


	17. Chapter 17: The Isla de Muerta

Chapter 19: The Isla de Muerta

The deep network of caves that wound through the underground chambers within the Isla de Muerta was the only way that one could actually say that they had set foot on the island. As far as anyone knew, no one had ever seen that land above the volcanic caves. Indeed, many who went into those caves never came out again, though many had tried. Only a few survived to tell the tale of the cursed isle. Most sailors stayed as far away as possible from the fabled island, not wanting to be one amongst those numbers.

But those who had gone before them, had left signs, signs that warned the ignorant minded to turn back before they met the same gruesome fate. The graveyard of ships was only the first of those signs; the Isla de Muerta offered many more.

As the tiny longboat entered the cavernous yawn of the cave, neither Will nor Marie had to wait long to see just what those signs consisted of. As Jack rowed steadily deeper into the gloominess, the only light came from the lantern that Will was holding up in front of the boat. The lantern cast odd shadows along the walls and water, making already spooky surroundings seem even more frightening. Suddenly in the lighted shadows cast by the lantern, both of them saw something that caused them to blanch.

The light fell on a rocky outcropping that jutted up from the waterline. A bony white skeleton, with a sword sticking up from its back, stared at them with sightless eyes. Clearly, he had been the victim of another, probably one of his own mates that had loved gold more than friendship, and had been willing to kill for it.

The gruesome sight put Will on his guard, as it did Marie. Who knew? They could very well be put in a similar situation if they weren't careful.

"What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" inquired Will.

"Pirates code," Jack replied, as they rowed on past the unlucky skeleton, "any man that falls behind, is left behind."

"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" rejoined Will, sarcastically.

"You know for havin' such a bleak outlook on pirates, your both well on your way to becoming ones." As they rowed deeper into the cave, Jack began listing the mounting list of their illegal activities. "Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga," Jack suddenly noticed that they weren't listening to him. They had become enraptured by the reflections of gold that were being cast on the walls around them. Gold coins and jewels beneath the water caught the light from the lantern, literally bathing the caves with pools of golden fire. The two young twins were staring down at the entrancing light, gold reflections playing across the faces of both.

"And you're both completely obsessed with treasure." he observed last of all.

The longboat hit the rocky shore of the cave with a loud crunch. Jack hopped out, leaving Will and Marie to pull up the boat unto land. They were clearly not the first ones to have landed, other longboats and oars lay scattered around the surface of the beach, a sign that they would have to tread carefully.

"That is not true," said Will, vehemently denying Jack's last sentence, "I am not obsessed with treasure."

Jack had climbed up a small incline to peer out of a space in the cave wall that was formed into a wide opening that looked out into the main chamber. What he saw there made him turn and look back at them, no, at Will, specifically, Marie noticed. He seemed to deeply regret that he had to say his next words. "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate."

Will's brow creased in confusion, but as he and Marie climbed up to join him, they heard and saw just what it was that was making his statement so horrifyingly clear.

"Gentlemen, the time has come." A jagged, hacksaw voice of a man cut through the silence, followed by the ragged cheer of a group of men.

Will and Marie climbed up level with Jack, and peered out of the opening in the rock wall. Will, in a moment, knew exactly what Jack had been right about his obsession with treasure, for at that very moment, his treasure was standing on the central mound of gold, silver and jewels in the chamber, facing nearly fifty bloodthirsty pirates, her life resting precariously in their hands. "Elizabeth." He breathed, almost unconsciously, in sudden fear.

Standing on the mound with Elizabeth was a pirate that was uglier than Marie had ever thought a man could be. The pirates gathered around the mound of treasure weren't much better in terms of looks. They were hanging intent on every word that the man was saying. Marie realized that this had to be the infamous Barbossa that she had heard so much about. "Our torment is near at end."

This was met by another loud cheer from the assembled pirates. "Our salvation is nigh! For ten years we've been tested and tried and each man jack you here has proved his metal a hundred times over, and a hundred times again. Punished we were the lot of us, disproportionate to our crime." Barbossa had by now whipped the pirates into frenzy; they were hanging on his every word. Marie had to admit that he certainly knew how too get the crowd on his side.

"Here it is!" Barbossa kicked the lid off the top of the large stone chest sitting in the middle of the treasure mound. It fell to the ground with a tremendous crash. Elizabeth backed up, gasping in fright at the sound. Barbossa walked along the length of the chest, his hands reaching in and caressing the gold coins, all of them identical to the one that Elizabeth was wearing around her neck. "The cursed treasure of Cortez himself." Picking up a handful of the coins, he dropped them back in piece by piece." Every last piece that went astray, we have returned. Save for this." He pointed at Elizabeth's frightened form and the pirates responded with a chilling scream of satisfaction.

The pressure had become too much for Will to stand. "Jack!" he hissed, as he began climbing over the rock ledge and, the next moment, he would no doubt have vaulted into the middle of the pirates had Jack not stopped him.

"Not yet." He said, as he pulled Will back behind the ledge. No one below noticed the shower of coins that Will's near rash action had caused, all save one, one who wasn't human.

"We wait for the opportune moment." Jack whispered, before he moved back from the opening and headed back down to the shore.

"When's that?" the pure ice in Will's voice caused Jack to stop dead in his tracks. He realized that they suspected something. He would have to be careful. "When it's the greatest profit to you?"

"May I ask you something?" Asked Jack, turning around to face them, "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Jack didn't wait for an answer, but continued right on speaking, "Do us a favor. I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here, and try not to do anything stupid." With that, he turned and vanished around the corner. But though he may have cautioned them not to do anything stupid, Jack himself had done the stupidest thing he could have done by leaving them alone together.

"You've never given us any reason _to _trust, either." Said Marie, softly.

She and Will exchanged looks, and they both knew that the time had come to ceremoniously break their deal with Jack. Will grabbed an oar from one of the longboats that was moored on the beach. Marie instantly caught onto to his scheme. Neither of them needed to be told that silence was of the essence.

They had both tuned out what Barbossa had been saying for the past few seconds, but now what he was saying floated to them through the twisting tunnels. "Who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?"

They all responded as one. "I have!"

"And whose blood must yet be paid?"

"Hers!"

Creeping slowly through the tunnel, Marie could see that her brother's muscles were tensing, as if he couldn't wait to launch himself down some of their throats, but he seemed to be biting back his rage for the moment.

The pirates had begun chanting, frenzied for blood. Marie shivered despite herself. She could see Jack's form ahead of them. His back was to them, watching the proceedings intently, no doubt waiting for the right moment to spring his trap. But he never got the chance. At the last minute, some silent instinct warned him to turn. He did and his eyes grew wide with surprise when he saw the oar that was coming at him and who was wielding it. But there was no time for him to react.

WHAP!

Jack went down like a sack of rocks. "Sorry, Jack." Will said coldly to the pirate captain's prostrate form. "We're not gonna be your leverage."

"Well," said Marie, "now he's out of the way, any bright ideas about how we're going to rescue Elizabeth and get ourselves out of here in one piece?"

"Just follow me and maybe I'll come up with something in the next few minutes."

"Wonderful." Muttered Marie, but since she had no ideas herself, she just followed Will and hoped that what he had said would happen.

The chanting in the chamber reached a fever pitch, as Barbossa pushed Elizabeth over the chest of gold, grabbed an evil looking stone knife that was lying across the gold coins, and said, in a bone chilling voice, "Begun by blood, by blood undone."

Will and Marie sneaked around behind the pirates, keeping a wary eye on them, lest they should catch sight of the intruders.

Barbossa put the knife to Elizabeth's hand and sliced it straight down. Elizabeth looked from her hand to Barbossa, slightly surprised, despite her fear, that it should have been so simple. "That's it?"

Barbossa grinned at her evilly. "Waste not." He said a fiendish delight flashing in his eyes that made it clear that there was a double meaning behind his words.

The chanting, so loud a moment before, that it had been reverberating off the rock walls of the chamber, instantly fell silent. All eyes were now turned on the treasure mound. Time seemed to slow down to a stand still as Elizabeth finally released the medallion and it fell into the chest with an eerie clang.

Marie was suddenly aware of the fact that the cave had become totally silent. It was the first silent moment that had occurred in days. The pirates were clearly waiting to see if the curse had been broken. She and Will were running out of time to complete their rescue.

Voices once more began floating to their ears. "Did it work?" came a deep voice.

"I don't feel no different."

"How do we tell?"

A moment later, a loud gun shot rang through the air.

"You're not dead."

"No." laughed one of the voices who had spoken before, and than almost as if it were an insult, "'E shot me."

"It didn't work. The curse is still upon us."

Rebellious mutterings began rippling through the crew, who were probably willing to change leaderships at the first sign of trouble.

Will and Marie had manages to sneak around to the back of the pirates and they were now crouching in a tunnel that was directly behind where Barbossa and Elizabeth were standing.

Barbossa, who was by now dangerously angry, suddenly turned to Elizabeth, "You, maid, your father what was his name?" he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her roughly, "Was your father William Turner?"

Elizabeth's face held a satisfied look as she responded. "No."

"Where's his child? The child that sailed from England eight years ago," he snatched the medallion from her chest and shoved it into Elizabeth's face. "The child in whose veins flows the blood of William Turner? Where?"

Elizabeth refused to answer, merely staring back at Barbossa with smirk. Trembling with fury Barbossa backhanded Elizabeth violently across the face, and she rolled down the pile of treasure and came to a rest at its bottom, temporarily knocked senseless by the force of the blow. The medallion flashed as it fell from Barbossa's hand and landed beside Elizabeth.

Will and Marie looked at each other, they both knew that they would only get one chance at this, and they would have to make he most of it. Will slipped noiselessly into the pool of water that at the bottom of the treasure pile. He swam carefully up to Elizabeth, and placed a hand over he mouth. Elizabeth's eyes flew open; for a moment they were wide with fright, but when she saw who it was, she became instantly calm. Will motioned for her to stay quiet. Looking off to the side, Elizabeth grabbed the medallion and slipped into the pool with Will.

"Come on, you two, hurry." Hissed Marie, who, by listening to the conversation between the pirates, knew that their time was running short.

Between the two of them, they managed to help Elizabeth out of the pool and led her through the tunnel, back to the shore. Halfway there, they had to pass an opening that put them in the direct line of sight with the pirates. If any of them had been happening to glance that way, the rescue attempt would have come to an upsetting halt. Luckily, the only one who noticed them was the monkey, who tried to screech a warning to the other pirates, but they were too obsessed with petty human matters to listen to the most clear headed of the crew members of that point.

Suddenly, Will, who had been leading them, stopped. They had come to point where the cave had split off into two branches, and Will was looking from one to the other, evidently confused at which one they should take that would get them back to the shore.

"Will, which one do we take?" asked Elizabeth.

"To be perfectly honest, I can't remember."

Marie stared at Will in disbelief. "You mean you didn't look at which one we came down?"

"Pretty much." Said Will, who was clearly sheepish.

A few more seconds passed wherein all three stared at the choice before them. Finally, Marie, who hated inaction more than anything else, spoke up, "Well, I'm not just going to stand here."

"What are you doing?" asked Will, as she started down to thee tunnel to the left.

"Will, take Elizabeth and go down the other tunnel. Chances are that both of these tunnels will lead to the shore."

"And if they don't?" asked Will, fear starting to show on his face for the first time since the voyage had begun.

Marie hesitated, knowing the implications of what she was about to say, but they had no choice. "Don't wait for me." Than she turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Marie, Marie. Wait." Called Will, hard-pressed to keep from following her down the tunnel.

"Will, come on. She'll be all right. Let's go." Urged Elizabeth, who knew that she would have to take charge of Will before he did something that would put all of them at risk. Reluctantly, Will followed Elizabeth down the tunnel to the right, but not before looking back guiltily over his shoulder.

Marie made her way through the tunnel's twisted passages. She had given up trying to keep her sense of direction straight and was now only concerned with making her through the passage as quickly as possible. Just when she sensed that she was near the shore, when she heard the gravelly voice of Barbossa raised in an angry roar. "The medallion, she's taken it! Get after her, you feckless pack of ingrates!"

That made Marie automatically speed up her pace. There was no telling how well the pirates knew these caves, the chances were good that they would look every place they could think of for Elizabeth and the medallion that was their last hope. In fact, Marie was just looking over her shoulder to see if she was being pursued, when she ran into something that was warm, solid and could talk. "Ow, watch where you're goin', Luv."

Marie stumbled back a few paces and saw that she had run into Jack Sparrow, who had managed to regain consciousness. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, as if surprised that they had just run into each other.

"Jack, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?"

"You should be unconscious, shouldn't you?"

"I have incredibly strong powers of recovery. And about that…"

"Oh, shut up, Jack, I don't have anything more to say to you."

She tried to push past him, but he blocked her path. "Well, I have a few things to say to you, so you're not leavin' just yet. You're the ones who reneged on our deal."

"You reengaged first. You were planning to betray us. So don't come complaining to me about honor and all that, because you obviously don't have any."

Now, these two had been so busy arguing, that they had not noticed that the pirates had caught up with them. Thy had not heard their distressed cries as it became clear to them that not only had Elizabeth escaped with the precious medallion, she had also managed to steal every single one of the oars to the longboats. Nor did they notice, at least, until it was too late, that in the process of trying to find the oars, they had been spotted and were now effectively surrounded.

Marie looked around her, and sighed, irritated. "Nice going, Jack."

Jack looked at Marie in apparent hurt. "What did I do?"

The argument was mercifully brought to a close, when one of the former crew of Jack Sparrow recognized him. "You." Said Ragetti, pointing are Jack in utter amazement.

"You're supposed to be dead." Concurred Pintel.

"Am I not?" asked Jack, in apparent confusion. Looking down at himself, he checked to make sure that he was indeed still alive. That confirmed, he turned and tried to head out, but he found his way blocked by sharp blades and cocked pistols. He tried to go the other way, only to be met by the same obstacles. They would have killed him then and there, had he not spoken up. "Perlay." He winced. That wasn't it. Maybe it was… "Parlelulu." Marie rolled her eyes in exasperation as Jack struggled to find the word he was looking for and Pintel and Ragetti exchanged confused glances. "Parsley, palieni, pasnip, partner."

Ragetti suddenly piped up. "Parley."

Jack jumped on that. "That's the one, parley, parley."

Pintel roasted his companion with an angry glare before turning back to Jack. "Parley. Damned to the depths whatever mutton 'ead though up parley."

"That would be the French." Supplied Jack, "Latin based, of course. Inventors of mayonnaise."

Pintel, whose brawn had replaced a good deal of his brains, seemed suddenly to be utterly fascinated by this. "I like mayonnaise."

"Shame about the French. Obsessed with raisins. Humiliated grapes, really. Think about it."

Pintel was confused by this, as his mind worked furiously to decode this statement into regular English. Finally he gave up. "Don't know."

"Terrific singers, the French. Eunuchs, all of 'em."

"That's not right." said Pintel, "I used to date a eunuch."

"Enough." Said a large African who had been listening to the conversation (if you could call it that in the first place) with increasing annoyance, "Take them to the captain. He'll decide what to do with them."

Marie was actually glad that the exchange had been brought to an end; she had positively no idea what Jack had been trying to say even now. And she thought it would probably be best if she didn't try to think about it any further.

They were hustled into the main chamber, where they were met by none other than Barbossa who was even uglier up close than he had been from far away." You had better have something for me, B'son." He said, to the African, "or you'll be joinnin' the many unfortunate souls that have been thrown to the locker of Davy Jones."

The B'son, who looked as if he would have been able to smash anyone's head flat for a statement like that, actually was quite respectful of Barbossa. "Captain, the girl has escaped with the medallion; she also managed to take all the oars with her. She wasn't acting alone. She had help from at least two people, one of them being quite familiar."

"So, you're sayin' you've brought me hostages?"

"Yes, sir."

Barbossa was smart enough to know that ranting and screaming at this unexpected and unfortunate turn of events wouldn't be the wisest choice. He had to play these next few minutes carefully to avoid having yet another mutiny on his hands. "Better than nothing. You still have some use, even if the girl did get away. Where are these prisoners?"

B'son stepped aside, giving Barbossa a clear view of Jack and Marie. When his eyes fell upon Jack, his face showed no small degree of shock and surprise. His reaction to Marie was slightly different. Marie felt like she was being read by him, as though he were trying to see just by staring at her, if she had any weakness that he could exploit. Finally, he spoke, "What be your name, lass?"

"Marie." Was all that she said, some inner voice warning her not to tell her last name. She had heard him ask Elizabeth whether her father had been William Turner, which was what informed her of the true nature of the situation: the pirates needed the blood of a Turner to break the curse, not the blood of a virgin. She and her brother were the last surviving members of that name. Because Jack had conveniently forgotten to mention that tiny detail, both her's and Will's danger had just increased ten-fold.

"Just Marie." Said Barbossa, a little amused. "Your parents didn't think it fit that you should bear their last name?" Marie made no answer, staring stoically straight ahead. "I don't suppose that you happen to know anything about how that young miss we had prisoner before escaped? You seem to be rather pleased that she's managed to get away." Still no answer. "I also find it hard to believe that a fine young maid such as yourself could find herself in company with a man such as that?" he gestured to Jack, in what was not exactly a flattering way. Than, he glanced askance at Marie. "That is assuming you _are _a maid."

"There are many women in this world, Captain. Don't assume that Jack Sparrow has been able to bed them all." Was the reply.

"So, what am I supposed to think that you and Sparrow just were able to sail to this island, which is far away from any port, in nothing more than a longboat?"

Marie turned to look at him for the first time, and said without missing a beat, "Yes, that is exactly what you are supposed to think."

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"You said it, not me."

Barbossa was taken aback for a moment. "I never thought I'd see it, a female Jack Sparrow."

"Is that an insult or a complement?"

Barbossa didn't have time for this. He needed answers, something which this woman wasn't about to be giving. She was obviously too clever to be questioned in the regular way. He would have to rethink his strategy. "As you will take it, Miss Marie. Be assured, though, no matter how much you dodge, you'll tell me what I need to know." He reached a hand and ran two dirty fingers over her face. He felt her shudder at his touch and she turned away in disgust. Barbossa smiled, satisfied at her reaction. "Oh, yes, you'll talk, eventually. But, enough; Take her aside."

Mari was dragged roughly aside as Barbossa approached Jack, who was leaning on his paddle and smiling genteelly at Barbossa, a smile that was deliberately calculated to annoy him. "How in the blazes did you get off that island?"

Though Jack seemed to answer in his usual off-hand manner, there was a definite edge in his voice when he spoke. "When you marooned me on that god-forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing mate." He gave them a moment to guess what that might have been, before answering the question himself. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Ah, well I won't be makin' that mistake again." He said, right in Jack's face, than turning to address the rest of the pirates, he said, "Gents, ye all remember Captain Jack Sparrow?" evil grins and snickers greeted this statement. They did indeed remember Jack Sparrow and not at all in a friendly way. "Kill 'im."

The sound of a dozen pistols cocking at the same time still wasn't enough to rattle Jack's nerves. He stood calmly, watching Barbossa's retreating back, and than at the last moment, he called out, "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"

Barbossa's stopped dead in his tracks. Something in that irritating man's voice made it evident to anyone with half a brain that Jack knew exactly where to find what Barbossa wanted most. Despite the utter hatred and contempt that he felt for Jack, he knew that it would be a foolish mistake to ignore him. "Hold your fire." Ignoring the disappointed groans from the pirates around him, he walked back to Jack and said, "You know whose blood we need?"

Marie knew that it was over. Jack wouldn't pass up a chance like this. But, she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of her begging and weeping for her life. She had achieved her object; both Elizabeth and Will had escaped. The only thing she could do now was hold her head high and wait for them to do their worst.

Jack had been watching Marie closely. She wasn't short on spunk or courage that much was obvious. Not many people could have stood up to Barbossa the way she had done and gotten away with their lives. Jack could very well have told Barbossa what he wanted to hear and gotten it over with. And yet, his plans had changed, most unconsciously. Barbossa certainly wasn't one to keep his word or at least to keep his word so long as a loophole of some sort could be found that would justify him breaking it. He needed to play for time. All the power was on his side after all, he might as well use it. The other unspoken reason that maybe not even he would have wanted to admit was that he didn't want Marie to be harmed in this way. If she had to face death, she deserved to face it where she had some fighting chance.

His decision was made. Now, he would leave it up to fate to see how it turned out. His eyes moved from Marie to Barbossa, and he smiled craftily. "I know whose blood you need."

* * *

Next chapter: The conflict between the _Interceptor_ and the _Black Pearl_


	18. Chapter 18: Conflict

Chapter 18: Conflict

Out at sea, the _Interceptor, _under full sail, skimmed gracefully and swiftly over the sea. They had already left the dangerous island behind them and were trying to make their way as fast as they could to the nearest port, where there would be little chance the _Pearl _would follow.

At least, that's what everyone allowed themselves to think. Will, however, wasn't able to tell himself the same lie and actually believe it. He had seen the bloodlust shinning in the eyes of Barbossa's crew; he had seen their desire for the curse to be broken. Now, that they had come so close to regaining their humanity, they wouldn't rest until they had achieved their desires. He sensed that before to long, conflict would become inevitable.

He and Elizabeth had retreated below decks, where they could be relatively alone and talk without the fear of being interrupted by any of the other crew members.

Elizabeth had told him the story of her capture, including the curse which made Barbossa and his crew unwillingly immortal. It matched, for the most part, for the most part the story that Jack had told him and Marie, except for the fact that the blood which was really needed to lift the curse was not that of Elizabeth; it was the descendant of a man named Bootstrap Bill Turner. The only people who could now really lift the curse were Will and Marie. Naturally, this made Will even more worried for his sister's safety.

However, his attention was torn at this moment between Marie and complete rapture for Elizabeth. He couldn't remember a single moment in time that he had ever been alone with Elizabeth; there had always been another presence, another close pair of eyes upon them. Not now, though. Now, they might as well have been all alone. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, he didn't care, for once, if he was violating decorum by staring so raptly at her, he would probably never get another chance like this. He wanted to savor every minute of it that he could.

Elizabeth was in the process of trying to bandage her wounded hand, her anger at Jack for nearly betraying Will and Marie was making it difficult for her to complete task, "What sort of a man trades a man's life for his ship?"

"A pirate." Answered Will, simply.

Unable to just sit where he was so close to her without touching, he relieved her of the task which she was obviously going to be unable to finish. Stopping her hands from tying the bandage. "Here," he said, softly, "let me."

"Thank you." Said Elizabeth, as Will began to gently wrap the materiel around her hand.

A moment of silence lapsed between them, neither knowing quite what to say. Finally, Will asked, "You said you gave Barbossa my name as yours," he looked up into her eyes, "why?"

Elizabeth looked down. How could she answer such a question when in that answer she would reveal her deepest feelings were for Will? She didn't have the courage at this moment to tell him. "I don't know."

Will ha to confess that he was disappointed by her answer. He had hoped that she would reveal something, but perhaps his hopes were too high even in this moment.

Elizabeth suddenly gasped as Will's rough hand slid across her own. She tried to pull her hand back on impulse, but Will hung on. Now that he had her, he just couldn't allow himself to let go. "Sorry." He murmured, "Blacksmith's hands, I know they're rough."

"No, I mean, yes they are, but…" stammered Elizabeth, finding that her power to speak had evaporated. Will had finished bandaging her hand, but he didn't let her go after he tied the final knot. Instead, his hands closed around hers and stroked her skin softly, "But don't stop." And she didn't want him to stop, ever.

Will looked into her eyes and then found that he couldn't breath. In the space of a single second, the outside world fell into away completely. Everything (even the dangerous situation that his sister could potentially be in right now) didn't seem to exist. It was only him and Elizabeth, and an unspoken tension in the air that neither he nor she could name.

Elizabeth leaned forward, her mind almost asking, begging Will to take the next step, to take advantage of this one moment in time, a moment that they might never get back. Will saw a look of deep desire in Elizabeth's eyes. This was it, he knew it too, and he was ready to act on it.

The two of them leaned towards each other, drawn by a powerful magnetic force that neither of them could resist, nor did they wish, too. Their lips were a mere breath apart. Will cupped Elizabeth's hand in the palm of his hand, whispering her name, "Elizabeth."

But suddenly, Elizabeth stopped him. There was a troubled look in her eyes. She couldn't allow this to go on, without first telling him the truth. Taking his arm by the wrist, she guided his hand down to her chest, withdrew the medallion from her bodice and held out it to him.

Will could hardly believe his eyes. It had been years, but he still remembered the skull medallion that his father had sent to him so many years ago.

"It's yours." Elizabeth said, before taking hold of the chain and pulling it off her neck.

"I thought I'd lost it the day they rescued Marie and I." said Will. He was filled with a feeling of nostalgia, remembering the father that he had hardly known. He had often regretted that he had never been able to find it; it was the only thing that he had left from his father. "It was a gift from my father, he sent it to me." He looked up at her, and saw for the first time the guilt that was in her eyes. And he knew that she hadn't found this medallion by chance. "Why did you take it?" he asked, a little sharper than he had intended.

Elizabeth looked down, slightly ashamed, "Because I thought you were a pirate." Her words soft though they were cut Will to the quick. "That would have been awful."

When Will heard this, it was as if the veil which he had placed in front of his eyes was pulled off. Ever since Jack had told him the truth of his heritage, he had been doing everything in his power to try and deny that truth, but now, it was as if Elizabeth's words confirmed it. "It wasn't your blood they needed." Said Will, "It was my father's blood, my blood." He closed his hand around the medallion, finally admitting it to himself, "the blood of a pirate."

Elizabeth, seeing the pain that this revelation was causing Will and feeling that she was responsible tried her best to make things right. "Will, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

But the damage had already been done. Will slammed the medallion down on the table violently; his own anguish and anger adding to the force of the impact. Elizabeth didn't know what to say to this, and hurried silently away. Will knew that it wasn't her fault, but still, he knew that now, since he was truly the son of Bootstrap Bill, a pirate, he had no hope of ever having Elizabeth. What was more, he had left behind his sister and Jack. They had fallen behind and he had left them behind. He could very well have left them to their death. He, Will Turner, had truly become a pirate.

* * *

Jack Sparrow would have said that he was a step closer to heaven for the first time in ten years; he was walking on the deck of his beloved _Black Pearl, _the deck under his feet still held the same up and down beat that played in harmony and counterpoint simultaneously with the ocean. The music which the _Pearl _was producing was the sweetest sound that he had heard in a long time. The _Black Pearl _had not changed much on the outside.

But, she had changed. Perhaps only he would have been able to notice it. Barbossa, the sneaking slime of a human being, or skeleton, or whatever he was, obviously didn't understand about the _Pearl's_ personality. He had sensed almost from the moment that he had stepped onboard the great ship, her very spirit of being was being suffocated by the evil actions of Barbossa and his crew. The rigging sounded like it was groaning with sheer heartbreak, and the music which she made could sometimes sound like haunting echoes of weeping. He could sense, in his own peculiar way that her very essence was being destroyed.

Whatever his anger might have been, however, he had to be careful about how he proceeded. He had found himself in the ironic position of being a prisoner aboard his own ship. Ever since he had managed to use the influence to prevent Barbossa's men from killing or harming Marie and cajoling them into letting them on the _Pearl_, he was going from one step to the next as easily as if he had planned all along to be captured by Barbossa. He was now acting as if he were the one who was in control, and not the other way around.

Unfortunately, Jack's work would be cut out for him. In dealing with Barbossa, it would be like dealing with a darker version of himself. Barbossa was on his guard and was one of the few people who would be able to catch Jack at his schemes and even conceivably twist them around to serve his own purpose.

The two of them were in the Captain's cabin aboard the _Black Pearl, _where they had been engaged in tense negotiations for the past few minutes. Right now, Barbossa was staring at Jack in mild disbelief and contempt. "So," he said, finally, in response to Jack's rather outrageous proposal, "you expect to leave me standin' on some bench with nothin' but a name and your word and watch you sail away in my ship?"

Jack didn't seem to understand how Barbossa could even suggest such a thing like that. "No, I expect to leave you on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on _my _ship, and than I'll shout the name back to you, savvy?" As though that solved everything, he leaned expectantly on the table and waited for Barbossa's answer.

"That still leaves us with the problem of me standin' on some beach with naught but a name and your word, it's the one I need."

Jack took this in stride. He started shifting through the apples that were on the table. He remembered very well his former first mate's fondness for the tart, juicy fruit; he could only imagine Barbossa's torment at no longer being able to taste it. "Of the two of us," he remarked, off-handedly, "I am the only one who hasn't committed mutiny. Therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting." He moved to a seat opposite Barbossa and slid into it. putting his feet in the table, he said, impudently, "Although, I really should thank you, because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I'd 'ave an equal share in that curse, same as you." Of course, if he had still been in command, Bootstrap wouldn't have met such an untimely end and the curse would have been lifted long ago. But, still, even if he would have handled the situation better as Captain, he at least could torment Barbossa with it. He bit into the apple. "Funny ole world, innit?"

Barbossa's head gave the barest of nods, as he watched Jack eat, something he was unable to feel. He was trembling with ill-concealed rage, as though he would have liked nothing better than to strangle the life from Jack Sparrow. But he couldn't do that, because only Jack had the information that would set him free. For all that Jack was a prisoner, he had the upper hand in this little confrontation and he knew it.

Suddenly realizing it would be rude not to offer some of what he was eating with Barbossa, Jack reached out part of the apple to him. Barbossa was saved from making a stinging reply when his B'son entered. "Captain, we're coming up on the _Interceptor_."

The monkey, which had been hanging on the trapeze, silent through most of the conversation, now let out a screech and jumped from the trapeze, unto the table (which startled Jack) and bounded out the door, followed closely by Barbossa and Jack.

The fog which was perpetually trailing the _Pearl_ was not yet enough to mask the sleek _Interceptor_, upon which they were gaining rapidly. And Jack's experienced eye could see that they would soon overtake her.

He had hoped that they would have a bit more time, so that he could get more leeway with Barbossa, as it was, it seemed like he would have to improvise.

Barbossa, calm, cool and calculating was standing by the wheel, staring at the _Interceptor_ through his spyglass, when he found that he was instead getting a close-up view of Jack's mouth. It wasn't exactly the most pleasing of views. "I'm havin' a though here, Barbossa." Barbossa lowered the spyglass and stared at Jack as though he was looking at an insane person. "Let's say we run up a flag o' truce, I scurry over to the _Inceptor_ and negotiate the return of your medallion. Eh, what say you to that?

Silence filled the space between them. Than Barbossa grinned evilly and said, "Now, ya see, Jack, that's exactly the attitude that lost you the _Pearl_. People are easier to search when they're _dead_." He jerked his head at the B'son. "Lock 'im in the brig."

The B'son grabbed Jack roughly by the arm and began dragging him away.

Somehow the apple ended up in Barbossa's hand. He was almost about to take a bite, and than thought better of the futility of such an action. His face twisted into an ugly snarl of rage, and he hurled the green fruit through one of the numerous holes in the torn sails. The apple landed in the sea with a soft splash that went utterly unheeded by any, for a conflict upon the waters was about to begin.

* * *

Marie had to admit that she had found herself in better situations than the one which she was currently in: prisoner aboard a cursed ship with dozens of bloodthirsty pirates who seemed ready to rape or kill her according to whatever mood they happened to be in at any given moment.

No amount of cajoling on Jack's part had persuaded Barbossa to keep her out of a prison cell. As it was, Marie wondered why he had even bothered keeping quiet about who she was. She had to admit, that she had been surprised by his actions back at the Isla De Muerta and even more surprised by the fact that Jack had also managed to convince Barbossa to bring her unto the _Black Pearl_. She was now wondering what could possibly be taking them so long. Surely it couldn't take him long to trade away her life, as she didn't doubt that was fully his intention. The thought lingered in her mind that perhaps there was more to the situation than she was willing admit, but she wasn't listening to that, merely because he prejudice was something she didn't want to let go of.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sounds of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. The large B'son dragged Jack down the stairs and threw him into the cell along with Marie. Locking the door behind him, he stomped back to the stairs, not even bothering to listen to Jack's last statement of "Apparently there's a leak." referencing the several inches of water on the cell floor.

Marie wasn't exactly thrilled to be sharing a cell with Jack. In fact, she could probably say that Jack was the last person she wanted to see in the world at that moment. Naturally, it wasn't a great surprise that she proceeded to treat him with nothing less than cold dislike. "So, how long have I got to live?"

"What in the world are you talkin' about, luv?"

"I should think that the question was easy enough to answer. I would at least like a rough estimate as to how long I've got left on this earth so I can prepare myself to leave it."

Jack stared at her for a moment, his brows knitted together in apparent confusion. "In the whole course of your short life, you've committed enough sins to need to do penance for seventy years?"

Marie tried not to groan in frustration. "Let me see if I can make this a little simpler for you to understand, Jack. When are we going to be arriving at the Isla De Muerta?"

"What makes you think we're goin' there?"

"Well, maybe it's because that's where the cursed treasure is hidden and it's the only place where the curse of the treasure can be lifted."

"All right, so far you're makin' some sense. Now what makes you think that you're goin' to meet your untimely end when we get there?"

"Do I have to spell everything out for you, Jack?"

"You could try, but that would take longer than simply saying what you wanted to say."

Marie stared at Jack, wondering how one man could be so impossibly annoying before finally saying, "Jack, I have half a mind to strangle you here right now if you don't start giving me a straight answer. Where are we going?'

"For your information, Marie, we're not going to the Isla De Muerta, I haven't revealed anything about who you are, who your bother is, or anything that you're about to accuse me of in the next breath, so be quiet for a few minutes."

Marie stared at Jack in astonishment. For all she could tell, he was serious. But, with Jack, that could very well be a trick. "Jack, are you serious?"

"Of course, I'm serious. You don't think I would be telling you this if I did plan t betray you."

"I honestly don't know what to expect from you anymore. You are undoubtedly one of the most irksome people I have ever met."

"I'll take that as a complement."

"It wasn't meant to be."

Their argument (which could very well have continued on perpetually), was thankfully broken off when they heard a series of load splashes issuing room the behind the thick hull.

"What was that?" asked Marie.

Jack sidled over to the hull, where there was a small hole, just big enough for him to stare out of. "The sweeps." He said, back to her, "The oars. We'll be catchin' up to the _Interceptor _in a shorter time than I expected."

"The _Interceptor_?"

"Yeah. Didn't you know? Thanks to your little friend Elizabeth, Barbossa set a course to catch _Interceptor_ and the medallion that's aboard her."

"But, the _Interceptor_ is the fastest ship in the Caribbean. How can the _Black Pearl_ catch up with them?"

"I suppose that you didn't take into account that that _Black Pearl_ hasn't been caught for nearly a decade."

"And your point is?"

"Believe me, luv. The _Interceptor_ won't be able to outrun the _Pearl_. You're sailin' on the fastest ship in the Caribbean at this very moment." Marie was silent, as the implications of Jack's statement became clear in her mind. "Better get a good hold of somethin' lass. My guess is pretty soon, there goin' to be a conflict."

* * *

Above them, on the waters of the Caribbean, the _Interceptor_ tried valiantly to outrun the grim _Black Pearl_ that was bearing down on them like a nightmare. Shallower on the draft and more maneuverable than the _Pearl, _she tried to lose them amongst the shoals, but long it could not be before the powerful sweeps of the _Pearl,_ extending out from her like the gruesome legs of a spider, closed the distance between them to a mere stone's throw away.

Conflict had become inevitable. Guns were made ready, loaded with whatever could be found (in the case of the _Interceptor, _this turned out to be everything from cutlery, crushed glass, and even included the flask of a startled Gibbs). However, it seemed as though the _Pearl_ would win without even presenting a target to their unfortunate prey. But, just as they were preparing for a quick victory, the starboard anchor on the _Interceptor_ was lowered. It dragged along the bottom of the ocean floor, until it hit a reef, where it lodged itself firmly, unable to budge another inch. This caused the _Interceptor_ to swing wildly into the path of the oncoming _Pearl_.

In the face of this completely unexpected move, Barbossa had no choice but to rack the starboard oars and give the order to bank hard to port.

The two ships came up side by side to each other, guns bristling out of ports and the separate crews haranguing and shouting insults at each other.

The minute before the two sides opened fire, there was a split-second of silence, the kind in which every sound and action on the planet had been sucked into this one moment. Than, it was utterly shattered as the guns fired and the cannonballs exploded in a flash of smoke and fire. And, so the conflict was joined.

* * *

Jack and Marie felt the first blast from the cannons quite acutely. For the next few minutes, which felt like hours, they listened to the thunder of the cannons. They soon weren't just hearing the battle, they were seeing it.

A cannon burst through boards of the hull, shrapnel ricochet off the walls. The two barely had time to duck. "Stop blowin' holes in my ship!" Jack screamed back at the _Interceptor_.

Marie couldn't help by roll her eyes. Floating and amongst the debris was Gibb's forsaken flask. Jack saw it, and, thinking it would be a quick solution for all his troubles, grabbed it, only to find that it was empty. He seemed rather disappointed by the discovery.

But than, they both saw it at the same time. The broken door lock that had been blown apart by the cannon shot. They looked at each other. Jack got up and pushed it open, cautiously. Seeing that no one was around to stop them, he turned to Marie. "After you."

Above them, the fight continued to rage. The crew of the _Interceptor_ was putting up a violent struggle, but they were outnumbered and outgunned, and seeing as how the crew of the _Black Pearl_ couldn't be killed, they had a distinct advantage over their unfortunate opponents on the _Interceptor._

Then, a cannonball was shot from one of the guns of the _Black Pearl_. Two missiles, held together by a length of chain, whipped through the air and wrapped around the _Interceptor's_ main mast, breaking it in two as easily as a matchstick. With a groan, the mast began to fall onto the _Pearl. _There was a mad scramble on deck of the _Black Pearl_, as the crew ran in every direction to avoid being smashed. Only Barbossa, cool in the midst of such chaos, walked calmly to the _Pearl's _railing, stopping beneath the mast. The mast fell with a crunch, Barbossa standing in the holes of the tattered sails.

A moment of silence fell over both ships, as the crews looked at the fallen mast of the _Interceptor._ The outcome was not all to clear. The _Interceptor_ was doomed and the _Pearl _had won. With a howl of triumph, the pirates of the _Pearl_ began to swarm on to the crippled _Interceptor_ like a horde of bees. Swords clashed and pistols exploded. The crew of the _Interceptor_ struggled valiantly against the cursed pirates, but by now, it was too late.

It was into this scene of chaos and carnage that Jack and Marie came up into. In the noise and rush of battle, no one seemed to notice the would-be escapers. They both sized up the situation at a glance. Rushing up to the rail and clambering on top of it, Marie looked over at the deck of the _Interceptor_, which was alive with dueling pirates. She tried to pick out her brother, but he wasn't there. Marie began to be afraid. Will would have been in the thick of it, he was a good enough swordsman that he would have been able to hold his own. What if he was already dead or trapped? She had to get over to the _Interceptor_.

Jack climbed up on the railing beside her. She grabbed one of the ropes and prepared herself to swing across. Jack looked like he was planning on doing the same, but it didn't look as if there were anymore spare ropes.

Suddenly, a pirate who had been swinging over to the _Interceptor_ was pushed back to the _Pearl_. As he flew past Jack, he nimbly caught the rope and let its former owner crash to the _Pearl's _deck. "Thanks very much." He said, back to the dazed pirate.

Together, he and Marie swung across to the _Interceptor_. Marie let go immediately, but Jack had a bit of a tougher time landing, which was probably for the best as he pushed a pirate who had been menacing Gibbs with a sword. The pirate was knocked clear and Jack, shouting in evident surprise, found himself sailing through the air back the _Black Pearl._

When he finally did manage to land on the _Interceptor_. Gibbs stared at him, mouth open in dead amazement. "Jack!?"

All Jack did in response was hand him the empty canteen, "Bloody empty." He said, with a touch of admonishment in his voice, before hurrying away from him. Gibbs only had to look from the canteen back to Jack, before he was one the attack once more.

Marie suddenly realized a bit too late, that she had blundered into a battle scene without a weapon. Looking around her frantically, she spotted a sword lying on the _Interceptor's _deck only a few steps away from her, and she saw it not a moment to soon. Behind her, she heard a roar, turning she saw a pirate lunging at her, his sword upraised, a look of bloodlust shinning dangerously in his eyes. She only just managed to duck out of the way of a swing which could very easily have taken her head off. Rolling, she managed to grab the sword, and block his downward thrust, before punching his solidly in the belly and than in the face with the flat of her own sword. He fell to the deck, completely dazed.

Marie didn't even pause to consider her victory. She also didn't think of the fact that she had cheated a little to win. Nor that she was miraculously alive where many people would have been dead. All that she was concerned about at that moment was her brother.

Suddenly, she saw Elizabeth rushing past her, her eyes wide and frightened. "Elizabeth!" she called, but Elizabeth didn't even stop if she had heard her at all.

Marie followed her to the aft end of the ship. "Will?!" Elizabeth screamed, down into the hatch that lend down to belowdecks.

Marie than heard Will's muffled voice from below, "No." she whispered in horror, as she saw that the ruined mast of the _Interceptor _had landed right on top of the hatch, effectively trapping Will underneath the deck.

She ran over to the hatch, "Will, Will, are you all right?"

"Marie?!" murmured Will, stunned that he was seeing her alive.

Both Elizabeth and Marie tried to move the mast, but it wouldn't budge. "We can't move it." Elizabeth cried down frantically into the hold.

Before Will could respond to her, Elizabeth and Marie were all at once grabbed by the pirates of the _Black Pearl_ and hauled away from the hatch. "Will!" screamed Elizabeth, panicking.

"Elizabeth! Marie!"

The _Pearl_'s crew had quickly overrun the _Interceptor_, taking captive all those who were still alive and killing any who resisted. It wasn't long before the now blood-soaked deck of the _Interceptor_ was deserted. However, they did not leave the ship before a trail of black powder was lighted with a spark and a hiss. The powder ignited and began its inevitable approach to the casks of gunpowder that were piled high in the powder magazine of the _Interceptor_. The conflict which had started on the high seas could only end one way: in the total annihilation of _Interceptor_. And the man who was now trapped within the tangled mass of wood was now struggling to break free, before all time ran out.

* * *

Yes, I ended that chapter on a cliffhanger. Yes, I am a really mean author. Yeas, I like to see my readers suffering. But look on the bright side; you already know that Will survives, so I doubt you'll be losing much sleep over this. Anyway, the next chapter should be up soon. As usual, read and review.

Next chapter: Will finds out that bargaining can sometime shave unforeseen consequences. Barbossa deposits some unwanted cargo on an old island. And a brother's sacrifice will forever change the course of his sister's future.


	19. Chapter 19: Sacrifice

* * *

Chapter 19: Sacrifice

"If any of you so much as thinks the word, parley," Pintel's voice was warning and angry; he had had too many bad associations with the idea of "Parley" to stand hearing it one more time. "I'll have your guts for garters."

Marie was tied to the mast of the _Black Pearl_ along with the rest of the _Interceptor_'s former crew. They had sailed to a safe distance away from the crippled _Interceptor_, Marie knew what was coming, and she knew that it spelled certain doom for Will. As the agonizing seconds ticked past, the increasing tension was almost becoming more than she could bear.

Barbossa was standing a little distance from them, turning the gold medallion over and over in his fingers, watching the _Interceptor_ with his cold, sickly gaze. He, too, was waiting for the inevitable blast. The suspense proved too much for Elizabeth to take quietly. She ducked under the ropes, (Pintel and Ragetti obviously had a lot to learn about tying up prisoners properly), and ran at Barbossa. "Elizabeth, no." said Marie, who tried to grab her, but than something happened that caused them both to stop.

With a deafening explosion, the _Interceptor_ blew apart. The once swift vessel of the Royal Navy fleet lay splintered and dead in the water, her days as the proud pirate hunter gone forever. Marie stared in horror as the _Interceptor_ collapse into the waster. She was completely numb. The knowledge that Will was gone made her feel that she had not only lost her only family, she had also lost a part of herself. Without Will, she was truly alone. He had always been with her, sure as night follows day. They had been inseparable, but now, what would she do without him? It was a question which did bear thinking about.

Unfortunately, the same feeling of numbness did not extend to Elizabeth. Hot rage flooded within her as she saw the _Interceptor_ go up in flames. "Will." She whispered.

She wriggled out of Marie's grasp and flung herself in Barbossa, beating on him weakly fists. "Stop it!" she screamed shrilly, "You've got to stop it!"

Barbossa easily deflected her blows, grabbing her by the wrists, he smiled in a twisted and crooked way, as only a person sick with evil could, "Welcome back, miss. Ye took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair you should return the favor." He tossed her to a group of the _Pearl's _crew, who began clawing at Elizabeth's clothes and skin. Elizabeth screamed.

Marie watched with mounting disgust. She hadn't thought that she would like Barbossa. And from the first moment she had seen him, she had only grown to hate him more and more.

Suddenly, just when everything seemed lost, a familiar and determined voice rang out over the _Pearl's _deck, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Barbossa!"

All heads turned in the directions which the voice had come from, and Marie, for the first time in her life, thought she would faint from sheer relief. There stood Will, soaked to the skin and looking tired, but very much alive.

"Will." Whispered Elizabeth, softly, overjoyed to see him alive.

Will jumped from the railing to the deck, grabbed a pistol from the table where the weapons of the prisoners had been piled, and aimed it directly at Barbossa's head. "She goes free." He threatened with dangerous coldness.

Will's sudden appearance on the scene threw Barbossa for only a second. "What's in your head, boy?" he said sneeringly, as he came towards the boy.

"She goes free." repeated Will.

"You've only got one shot and we can't die." Barbossa gloated.

"Don't do anything stupid." pleaded Jack, who was off to the side.

Will looked at Jack for only a split second before going to the rail and leaping back on it. Still pointing the pistol at Barbossa, he said, "You can't," unexpectedly, he pointed the pistol at himself, "I can."

"Like that." said Jack, resignedly.

Will's move actually made Barbossa stop and study him closer, before he finally asked, "Who are you?"

"No one." piped up Jack, desperate to keep Will quiet. He quickly stepped in front of Barbossa, as though by hiding him from view, he could deny that Will even existed. "He's no one, distant cousin of my aunt's second nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though, eunuch."

"My name's William Turner." said Will, effectively shattering Jack's already flimsy story, "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner, his blood runs in my veins."

"''E's the spittin' image of ole Bootstrap Bill," said Ragetti, pointing a finger at Will, looking a little frightened at the close resemblance, "come back to 'aunt us."

"On my word, do as I say or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones Locker."

"Will, no." whispered Marie, sickened by the thought her brother sacrificing himself in front of her so soon after she thought he had been killed.

Barbossa remained silent for a moment and than finally said, "Name your terms, Mr. Turner."

"Elizabeth goes free." Will said, empathically.

"Yes, we know that one." Said Barbossa, seemingly tired of hearing that particular demand for the third time, "Anythin' else?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Marie saw Jack pointing at himself. Will, once he noticed, took it upon himself to deliberately misinterpret Jack's meaning, "And the crew, the crew are not to be harmed."

Barbossa stepped forward and said, with a fiendish grin on his ugly features, "Agreed."

Will lowered the pistol from his face, and he was hauled down from the railing and hustled over to the mast, where he was tied along with the crew of the _Interceptor_. He happened to end up right next to Marie. The two of them exchanged a long look which only siblings could understand. "I thought I had lost you." said Marie, softly.

"I know." Replied Will.

"But, now, I am going to lose you." Said Marie, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know." Said Will, "But I did. Don't worry, Marie, everything will be all right, I promise you."

Marie came a little close to Will, and laid her head on his shoulder. They both knew, though it was unsaid, that it was very likely, that this was one promise which Will would be unable to keep.

Unfortunately, this reunion between brother and sister did not go unnoticed, for there was something that neither Will, nor Marie, nor even Jack knew about Barbossa. The cursed captain had always known that Bootstrap Bill had had two children to his name, not just one. There had been something familiar about than pretty little thing, but he had been able to see it until now. This was almost too perfect; not only had he been handed William Turner, he also had Bootstrap Bill's daughter; now his revenge would taste all the sweeter. Too late, would Will realize that he had attempted to bargain with the wrong man.

* * *

The tiny island resembled little more than a white spit of sand with a dash of green upon it, surrounded by the clear blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Not far off its coast (if one could call it that), the _Black Pearl_ rode at anchor. She wasn't stopping to enjoy the view however, she, to use the words of her Captain, was getting ready to dump some unwanted cargo.

Elizabeth stood on the teetering plank, a dozen sharp weapons shoving themselves into her face. The pirates that crewed the _Black Pearl_ were all jeering and shouting threatening messages at her. Over it all, Barbossa laughed cruelly, obviously enjoying the whole thing immensely.

Will was struggling violently against the restraining arms of two of Barbossa's crew. "Barbossa, you lying bastard!" he cursed the treacherous pirate captain, his eyes burning murderously, "you swore she'd go free."

Barbossa turned his eyes on Will; he seemed to be deeply insulted by Will's accusation. ""Don't dare impugn me honor, boy. I agreed she'd go a free, but it was _you_ who failed to specify when or where." He than approached Marie, who was being held in the same manner as Will, a little ways from him. "And as for this fine specimen of womanhood, she ain't included in the crew since neither of ye is officially pirates." He brought his face closer to Marie's. "Perhaps we might be able to work out a more pleasurable arrangement for you, Miss Turner, if you're willin' to negotiate."

Marie's eyes were blazing with hatred and rage. She was to angry to even respond. Instead, she apt viciously into Barbossa's face, at such close range, she could hardly miss.

Barbossa's reaction was merely to wipe the spittle from his face and say, "Hardly ladylike, Miss Turner."

"I'm no lady." Retorted Marie, coldly. Will, even from his distance, could see that her eyes were a deeper shade of sapphire-green than he had ever before seen.

Barbossa smiled his reptilian smile, "Ye've got a lot of spirit in you, Miss Turner. I like them to be that way." He brought up his hand and traced them across her chin and Marie recoiled in horror and disgust. "In time, ye'll see the advantages to what I'm proposin'."

Having finished with Marie, he turned his attention back to Elizabeth and proceeded to have some fun taunting her. "And it does seem a shame to lose somethin' so fine, don't it lads?" The crew laughingly agreed wholeheartedly, for the Captain's meaning was not as obvious as it might have seemed. He came right up to the end of the plank and held out his hand, "So, I'll be havin' that dress back before you go."

Fuming darkly, Elizabeth proceeded to rip the dress off of her body. Amidst the cat calls thrown at her from the crew, she stripped down to nothing but her shift, and than threw it back to Barbossa. "It goes with your black heart." She said, coldly.

Barbossa took the dress amicably, which was probably the last reaction which Elizabeth would have liked to leave him with. "Oh, it's still warm." He threw the dress into the crew of pirates, who caught it with excited yells.

The inevitable had only been delayed by a short while. Elizabeth walked out to the very edge of the plank, and looked down at the water, than back at Will. For a split second, everything else fell away, and all she could see was the desperate, sad look in his eyes. So many unspoken things between them that they had let go to soon to be said. Now, it was too late.

"Too long!" cried the B'son, shattering the moment. He stepped down hard on the plank, causing it to wobble precariously. It became impossible for Elizabeth to stay on. With a scream, she slipped off the plank and disappeared.

Will's eyes went wide with horror. She was gone; the woman he loved was gone. He would never see her again. Grief momentarily robbed him of thought, but only for a moment. His eyes fell upon Marie, who was standing stock still, her eyes closed, as though trying to block out the horrible nightmare in front of her.

Will instantly knew what he had to do. He had already let down one of the most important women in his life. He had no intention of doing the same with her. Granted, if he did what he had in mind to protect, she might be in no better position than she was now, but at least she would be safe from those who meant her harm right now. For some bizarre reason, he thought that her being with Jack would be safer than where she was at present.

Marie felt Will's eyes upon her and she turned her head to meet his penetrating brown eyes. And for an instant, they both relieved a memory that had taken place eight years before, one that had cemented their bond as brother and sister, a bond which had never before been broken. That memory was when their ship that had started them across the Atlantic had been attacked by the very pirates who were now holding them captive. The ship, black and grim as any nightmare had come upon them, without warning shrouded in the fog. The crew hadn't even had a chance to attempt to fight back.

The pirates, laughing cruelly, had swarmed aboard, killing everyone in their path. She and Will had been asleep belowdecks, but at the sound of the melee ondeck, they had rushed up the stairs to find themselves in the middle of a living hell. Cruel laughter, the screams of the wounded and dying, the frenzied shouting of the Captain to the crew who wouldn't hear him and the sickening smell of blood.

They had looked everywhere for any route of escape, but there was none that they could see. The next few minutes had been hazy; neither of them remembered what happened after that. All they knew was that they had somehow become separated in the chaos of the battle and the next thing Marie had known, she was being menaced by the point of a sword. Had it not been for Will, she would have been killed. Will had kicked the pirate who was threatening her hard in the shin, and while the pirate had been hopping around on one foot cursing the boy, the twins had made their escape towards the only place that now offered refuge, the sea. Together they had to run to the railing of the ship and looked out to the water, trying to find something that would keep them from drowning. It was than that Will had spotted the large piece of the ship which had been blown apart by the initial cannon blast. But, it was some distance away and swiftly disappearing into the fog. If they didn't jump now, they would lose their one chance to escape alive.

He had looked at his sister and asked only one question. "Do you trust me?"

In response all she had done was look at him and nod. That was all Will had needed and together they had jumped.

In the present moment, Marie could see that Will was now asking her that same question in his eyes. She didn't know what he was planning, but she trusted him with her life. Slowly, she nodded her head. Whatever was coming, she was ready, and she trusted him.

This moment shared so intimately between the two of them, went completely unnoticed by anyone around them. Now that Elizabeth was finished entertaining them, the pirates still had one other amusement to enjoy: the dispatching of their former Captain Jack Sparrow.

Once Elizabeth had vanished, Jack was hustled toward the plank to have his turn. It didn't seem as though Jack had been expecting this course of action. "I'd really rather hoped we were past all this."

Barbossa laughed. Putting an arm around Jack's shoulders in a deceptively friendly arm, he said, "Jack, Jack, did ya not notice? That be the same little island we made ya governor of on our last little trip."

Jack looked at the miniscule blot of land on the horizon. Memories of his former betrayal and the near-death experience he had had there welling up within his soul. He turned back to Barbossa, all pretense now dropped, his true hatred of Barbossa showing in the depths of dark, brown eyes. "I did notice." His voice was a mere whisper, but it contained all the threat of a hissing snake.

Barbossa, however, did not feel threatened by any means. Now, he was the one in control of the situation, Jack wouldn't be able to wiggle his way out of this one. "Perhaps, ye'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape, but I doubt it." drawing his sword, he leveled it at Jack's face. "Off ya go."

More sharply pointed weapons joined Barbossa's in threatening Jack. Jack backed up a few paces, looking decidedly nervous. "Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot."

"By the powers, ye're right. Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward." Barbossa lowered his sword, but only for a moment, one of the crew handed the pistol to Barbossa, who presented it to Jack in mock formality.

Jack cast a quick glance into the water before saying to Barbossa, "Seein' as there's two of us, a gentleman would give us a pair of pistols."

"It'll be one pistol as before and you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady and starve to death yerself." With that Barbossa threw the pistol past Jack into the sea, and than two things happened in quick succession.

Jack, not wanting to continue listening to the mockings of his former crew, dived off the plank, his face determined and angry. He made a vow to himself as did so: he was not going to let himself be defeated again, he would prevail. However, in that second, something happened that would truly shift the balance on the _Pearl._

The pirates had been so eagerly watching Jack that their attention wandered, including the attention of the pirates who were supposed to be holding captive both Will and Marie. And in doing so, their hold on both of the twins loosened ever so slightly, and that was all the opportunity that Will needed.

With a violent jerking motion of his body, Will managed to free himself from their grasp. Marie, even though she hadn't been sure when Will would be making his move, she had been ready for it. She, too, managed to cast off her captors. Pandemonium suddenly erupted amidst the crew, as pirates scrambled from every direction to try and get at the escaped prisoners. However, since no form of order governed this mad scramble, all the pirates were running into each other, ending up in squirming piles on the deck, or trying to kill each other for the above two offenses. None of them were looking towards the twins, which left them with a clear window of opportunity to make their escape.

Will grabbed Marie and the two raced to the railing of the _Black Pearl_. Behind them, they could hear Barbossa haranguing his crew for their foolishness. Every second that passed, gave them more time to regroup and come after them. Their time was running out.

"Marie, jump!" Will cried.

Marie shook her head vehemently. "No, not with out you. We can still both escape."

Will wasn't so sure. Even now, in this dangerous time, he was the one with a clear head. Marie's desperation was blinding her to the fact that one of them needed to make a sacrifice and the only one who could give that sacrifice was him. Will turned to look back at the _Pearl's_ crew; they were beginning to reorganize themselves. They had only a few seconds. He looked back at Marie, whose desperation was beginning to show. She obviously couldn't understand why he was delaying. "Will, come on."

Will's eyes were filled with pain, but he knew what he had to do, and he refused to allow himself to waver. "I love you, Marie," He said, as he took her by the arm and pushed her to rail, "always." Marie stared at Will, unsure of what he was trying to say, "Remember me."

Too late, Marie realized what Will was doing. "Will, no. No!" But, it was too late for Marie to protest. Without another word, Will shoved her hard over the rail and Marie hurtled over the _Pearl's _side and into the ocean.

Will lingered for as long as he could, knowing that she wouldn't endanger herself on a doomed rescue attempt. He watched as her form dove deeper into the Caribbean's blue-green waters and began to head for the island. But than he felt his arms pulled back with grips of iron and he was wrenched from the railing. A few of the pirates rushed forward with pistols aimed at the water, but Barbossa stopped them. His former good mood had disintegrated and his temper had become dangerous. "Stop that, you fools! Don't waste ammunition and powder when your target is already gone." He turned to Will with a sneer, "I suppose ya think ye've done your sister a favor? Well, ye've done nothin' of the sort. Ye've only condemned her to a slow, lingering death from starvation and exposure. And did the possibility occur to you that when ye're dead, there's nothin' to prevent us from comin' back and takin' her than?"

"There are many ways to die," snapped Will, coldly, "and if you do try to come back here when the curse is lifted, than Marie will be able to take a few of you with her."

Barbossa stared at Will, his rage palpable, his normally dull eyes alight. Finally, he turned to the pirates who were holding Will and spat. "Lock 'im up."

Will was dragged away, but he felt no fear of what was to come. Marie was safe, he didn't know for how long, but he somehow felt that his sacrifice would prove not to be in vain. Indeed, little could Will have known that by saving his sister in such a way, he had done the very best thing for her that he ever could have done.

* * *

Well, there is another chapter over and done with; I sure hoped that everybody liked it. Now, at long last, we have the famous run runner island scene. I am particularly excited about this scene, it's going to be the first time that we actually get to gee some of the interaction between Marie and Jack.

Next chapter: Being marooned once isn't great. Being marooned twice on the same island really sucks. However, sometimes even the events that suck can be used by fate to change us for the better. So we will see when Marie and Jack are forced to open up to each other and see that they are maybe not so different after all.


	20. Chapter 20: Marooned Again

Okay, let me first say that I am sooooo sorry that I haven't gotten a chance to update sooner. My computer crashed and I have spent the last few days frantically retrieving the information that was lost. In order to make up for it, however, here is a generous helping of Pirates, my personal favorite of the movie, the (extended, I may say) island scene. Here we finally get the long awaited first signs of just how much Marie and Jack are attracted to each other, as well getting a glimpse into their more private emotions and frames of mind. I do hope everyone enjoys.

Chapter 22: Marooned Again

Marie felt at first panicked when she felt the water's embrace closing over her head. Her plunge into the ocean had been more or less unexpected, and her body was not able at first to react. However, it did not take her long to get control of her movements and she propelled herself upward; she broke the surface right beside the _Pearl_. She loathed the idea of leaving Will behind, but though Marie was impetuous, she was by no means a fool, and it would be a fool's errand to even contemplate a rescue. The only option which she had left open to her was to make for the small island that was not to far away. With one last reluctant look back at the _Pearl,_ and her brother, she turned and began to swim for the island. It was not long before she caught up with both Jack and Elizabeth.

It took them all of fifteen minutes to reach the island. Marie's muscles were tired and she was soaked through. Her situation was mirrored by Jack and Elizabeth. Jack had somehow managed to free his bound hands during the swim and had retrieved his pistol and sword. As the three of them staggered through the shallows to dry land, Jack stopped short and looked back at the swiftly disappearing _Pearl,_ shrouded in her own death fog, listing heavily to one side, damage from the battle with _Interceptor._ Marie was glad to see that they had, at least, done some damage in the battle. They all watched the _Pearl _as it disappeared into the horizon. They all had their own reasons for feeling as if some part of themselves had vanished along with the _Black Pearl, _though those reasons were all infinitely different.

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship." Jack finally said, his eyes narrowed with dark anger.

Elizabeth could not bear to look after the ship that was carrying Will to her certain death. Turning, she began walking up the sand, leaving Marie and Jack alone. Marie almost wished she could have joined her. The last person she wanted to spend time with now was Jack. But somehow, she could bring herself to follow Elizabeth. She felt as if a great weight had descended upon her and the further the away the _Pearl_ sailed, the heavier that weight became. She had felt something like it when the _Interceptor_ had been blown apart with Will still on it. However, this time, there would be no chance of his returning. Marie felt as though she were being suffocated by the sheer grief of losing the one person whom she always thought would be there.

Jack was watching the _Pearl _as intently as Marie, watching as his ship once again vanished from his view. What a humiliation. To be deprived of his ship once again and marooned on the same island where he had almost met his death before. When the _Pearl _was at last lost to sight, he turned, almost dejectedly, and walked up onto the shore.

Marie, however, didn't move. She continued to watch the place where the _Pearl _had disappeared, not noticing the tears which were beginning to appear in her eyes and running down her face. The minutes dragged by and the longer that she stood there unmoving, the more that Jack began to notice that he was beginning to stare at her. For some reason, some gnawing and utterly annoying part of himself refused to allow him to leave her be. If it had been any other woman, he would have left her to waste away in grief. But this woman was going to drive him insane. Why couldn't he just ignore and get on with his life? Because Marie was utterly impossible to ignore was the all too obvious answer. It was hard for him to accept that something was different about Marie, which was the exact reason why he could not leave her be.

Finally, after trying to ignore her for several minutes and failing miserably, he said, "Marie?" he received no reply. Fine, if she wanted to ignore him that was perfectly all right with him, he didn't care. Unfortunately, he found that he did care and after another few minutes of fruitless struggle, "Marie?"

This time, he got an answer. "What?" it was by no means friendly, but it was a start.

"If you don't mind me sayin' so, standin' there in the shallows and watchin' the horizon is not goin' to bring your brother back."

"And what else would you suggest that I do?" she asked, a cold voice.

"Well, to be quite honest, I don't have the slightest idea, but somethin' constructive was what I had in mind."

"And what would that be, sitting on the beach and letting you seduce me?"

"Not quite that, but if you wanna to try it sometime, I'd be open to proposition."

Marie at last turned to face Jack. All the frustration and disgust she had been feeling about Jack, Barbossa, and the world in general finally boiled over. Granted, perhaps some of the events that had led them to this point weren't completely Jack's fault, but since he was there and Marie wasn't always clear-headed when she was angry, he became the unfortunate victim of her tirade. "Is that all you ever think about Jack? Do you only ever think about satisfying your own desires? Don't you have any respect for the feelings of others?"

Jack was temporarily unsure of how to respond to this. "You don't need to start getting all snappy, luv. I was only offerin' a small piece of advice." Marie snorted and looked back at the far distant horizon. For some reason, her reaction struck a cord with Jack. "What would your brother say right now if he could see you right now? I'm sure that he would agree with me for once that you were actin' mighty ungrateful. If I were you, I would stop worrin' about what I couldn't change and thank my lucky stars that I was alive."

Marie's head whipped back around to glare at him and Jack saw that he blue-green eyes were now dangerously sapphire. He once again found that he had blundered straight into Marie's line of fire. Marie stomped over to Jack and said, in a voice that was positively glacial. "Look, Captain Sparrow, I'm fed up with you telling me what I can and can't do, what I should or should not be feeling. For once, can't you keep you're screwed up advice to yourself and let me be?"

"Sorry, luv, I only thought-"

"You thought what you always thought. You think that you have the answer to everything. You think that you're advice can ever be the right solution to a problem. You never once consider that there might, perhaps, be another way. You never even stop to consider the opinions or feelings of others. You're nothing but a self-serving, egoistical moron."

"Well, thank you for pointing out my faults so fully." Retorted Jack, "But since we're on the subject, you ain't such a saint yourself. At least I don't try to make any judgments about people before I know them. You seem perfectly willing to mistrust everyone you meet. You've never even given me a fair hearing on anything; you've always been blinded by your self-righteous prejudice. If you ever thought to give me a true chance, you might find that I am not all that bad, and I might even be trying to do you some good."

"When have you meant me or Will any good?" yelled Marie.

"When have either of you ever given me a chance to you good?" Jack yelled back, neither of them perhaps aware of the fact that they both sounded like two screaming children, "You had better listen to me now, luv, because if you don't, than you'll end up pinin' away for someone that you won't be able to get back."

That was the absolute final straw. "Don't pretend that you understand about what I am going through right now, Jack Sparrow. How would you know what it's like to lose someone who had been at your side your whole life? Have you ever felt like you had lost someone who seemed a part of you?"

Jack opened his mouth, but found that he had no good answer to what Marie had said. "You can't understand that, can you?" said Marie, with biting sarcasm, "No, of course you can't, because you don't care about anyone but yourself.

Total silence engulfed the tiny beach. Marie and Jack's violent argument had only been heard by the rolling waves and the swaying palm trees. It seemed to occur to them at the same moment that they had both sounded rather ridiculous. There was, after all, nothing that arguing could do to either change their current situation or the events of the past.

Perhaps, neither of them wanted to admit it, but Jack at last, said. "Fine, I'm sorry."

Marie turned her head and stared at Jack, completely taken aback by what she had just heard, "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, all right? How many times do you want me to say it? You'd better be satisfied with twice, because I'm not going to say it again."

Marie's mouth hung open for a few seconds in shock. Jack actually seemed to be serious for a change, though the word "sorry" clearly carried a sour taste for him. It was this single gesture on Jack's part that forced her, to some degree, to reassess the character of Jack Sparrow. There had never really been a time in the whole of their tempestuous acquaintance that Jack had ever behaved in a dishonorable manner. He might have been planning to betray them, but at the very moment when he could have told Barbossa that she was really the daughter of Bootstrap Bill Turner, he had never dropped a word. In fact, there were several points when he had actually been helpful. He had helped them to find a crew and rescue Elizabeth, and it hadn't been directly his fault that Will had been captured (though she still refused to think that he could escape _all _blame in that, however). The only things that Jack had perhaps been truly guilty of were annoying and sometimes, self-serving. And now, here he was, actually apologizing; the last thing she had ever thought that he would be capable of doing.

And, perhaps, he might have also been right about her to a certain extent. Her prejudices and stubborn pride could very often cause her to lack foresight and judgment. And her prejudice toward pirates, and men in general, had blinded her to the fact that Jack was different. They had hardly exchanged more than two words without fighting, but he had always listened to her, and Marie could not really say that she had ever really given Jack even half that courtesy. Yes, he had been right, and if he was big enough to admit that he was wrong, then so was she. Besides, she wasn't about to be bested by Jack, even if it was in a contest of humility.

Marie sighed, softly and said, "In that case, I am sorry, too."

Now it was Jack's turn to stare at her surprise. He was even more surprised when Marie actually came over and sat down beside him, with apparently no hostile intent. "I have always been far too quick to judge my first opinions of people. It's one of my worst faults."

Jack was silent for a moment, as he seemed to digest what she had told him. "Well, if that's the only fault you have, it's not such a bad one. Most of the time, it's your instincts that are dead on in what they're tellin' you."

"Maybe so, but my instincts were wrong about you, I thought you were an arrogant, caddish, inept pig."

Jack, despite himself, grinned, "And what am I, now?"

"Oh, don't worry; you're only an arrogant pig right now."

Jack gave her a mock bow, "It's good to know that I've come up in the world." Marie stared at him for a moment, before she burst out laughing. Jack had never had the opportunity to hear Marie laugh, and he had to admit that he liked the sound. He tried not to consider too deeply just what that might mean. He waited for her to stop laughing and than continued, "You might be interested in knowin' that my opinion of you hasn't changed at all."

"What not all? Do I take that as an insult or a compliment?"

"Take it how you will, Marie, but it was meant to be a compliment."

"And what would your unchanged opinion of me be?"

"From the very moment I saw you, I knew that you were unlike any other woman I had ever met." Marie's eyes filled with surprise. "What you don't think that's a compliment?"

"No, no. it's just not what I expected you to say."

"Well, what did you expect?"

Marie started to answer, then smiled and said, "I think we both know the answer to that question."

Jack grinned that same grin he had flashed Marie when had first met him, when he had been turning on the charm in the midst of a sword fight. "Yes, I think I do." Before such a statement would have caused her irritation; now, the reaction was quite different, for it caused her heart to beat faster and a warmth which she had never felt before her washed over her. The sudden intensity of such physical emotions frightened her a little.

Silence engulfed them for a few seconds and then Marie laughed once more. "Did what I think just happened, actually happen?"

"What are you getting at?"

"We just had a conversation and we didn't have an argument. Miracles really do happen."

"For once, we are in complete agreement." Said Jack, and then something happened that Marie wasn't expecting. Jack suddenly became very quiet and a veil of sadness seemed to come over his eyes. "Listen, Marie, about what you said earlier, you were right. I do think of myself a lot. I admit it wasn't right for me to try and criticize you for the way you were feelin' about Will. I've never been that close to any one person in my life before. But I want you to know something. I did lose something dear to me because of Barbossa. The _Black Pearl_. Barbossa stole her from me twice and both times I had to watch powerlessly as it sailed away. The _Pearl_may not be a person, but she's still unlike any other ship that I've set foot on. When I'm at her helm, she responds to my touch, we become like one creature at times. She becomes alive in her own way. Barbossa doesn't understand that. She is so much more than what he has made her into. In fact, he is slowly destroying her. In some ways, that made this time more painful. I can sense her pain, and I can't do anything to stop it." Jack seemed to have slipped into a trance as he said these words, but now he shook himself and continued, "Given that you know that now, I hope that you will understand that this time has been hard for me as well."

Marie had been silent for this whole confession, but than said, "I wasn't on the _Black Pearl_ for very long, and though my experience is somewhat limited when it comes to matters of this sort, I could tell that she was somehow special."

Jack turned to look at Marie, unsure for a moment if she was joking, but she was sincere. He had underestimated that Marie would be able to understand the connection he shared with _Pearl_ and the pain of that connection being severed. Perhaps there was more to her than even he had originally thought. "Thank you, Marie. That means a lot to hear you say that."

"Perhaps," said Marie, with a small smile, "We have more in common than either of us at first thought."

"Well, I'm willin' to give it a try if you are." he said, offering his hand, "It seems that we've already found enough to argue on maybe this will add an extra dimension to the relationship. What do you say, Marie?"

Marie looked at Jack's hand before taking and saying, "Agreed."

Thus, was a truce at last settled between them. And from that single agreement, would come far more than either could have ever dreamed.


	21. Chapter 21: Shades of Truth

Chapter 23: Shades of Truth

For the next few minutes, Marie and Jack sat in what was for once a companionable silence. Jack began cleaning his pistol while Marie just watched him. It was almost like she was observing some sort of ritual, and for Jack, it probably was. She could only guess how many times he might have done the exact same thing.

Marie's attention was shifted away from Jack, however, when she noticed Elizabeth walking along the beach toward them. She didn't look as though the walk had helped her much. As she stopped in front of the two of them, Marie looked first at her than at the line of footprints which Elizabeth had left in the sand when she first started her walk. She hadn't been gone long enough for the tide to wash them away.

"It's really not all that big, is it?" stated Jack, without looking up from his pistol.

Elizabeth turned to him. She was in no mood for small talk of any kind. "If you're going to shoot me, please do so without delay."

Jack stopped what he was doing and placed his elbows on his knees, leaning toward Elizabeth inquiringly. "Is there a problem between us, Miss Swann?"

Elizabeth stepped closer and said her next words very slowly, as if it were difficult for her to keep her temper under control. "You were going to tell Barbossa about Will in exchange for a ship."

"We could use a ship." Said Jack, ironically, "The fact is, I was going to not tell Barbossa about bloody Will in exchange for a ship, because as long as he didn't know about bloody Will, I had something to bargain with, which now no one has, thanks to bloody, stupid Will."

Jack delivered this speech with unfeigned annoyance, that Elizabeth half believed he was telling the truth. "And you didn't tell them about Marie?"

Jack sighed in frustration, and said, "No, I didn't."

Elizabeth looked at Marie. "He's telling the truth, Elizabeth, for once. In fact, he probably saved my life by _not_ telling them about me."

Elizabeth looked down, not more than a little embarrassed. "Oh."

Jack finally stood up and stuffed the pistol back into his sash. "Oh." He repeated, mockingly.

Elizabeth was not one to be beaten so easily. "He still risked his life to save ours."

"Ha!" scoffed Jack. Some fate Will had delivered them too. He had "saved" them from a death by pistol or sword to death by starvation and exposure. How truly generous and heroic of Will.

Jack turned and began sidling up in the beach, in his slightly comical, unsteady gait. Marie got to her feet and followed Elizabeth as the she ran after Jack. "So, we have to do something to rescue him."

Jack turned only long enough to flap his hands at her dismissively, "Off ya go then, let me know how that turns out."

That wasn't the answer Elizabeth had wanted to hear. She followed Jack into the small patch of palm trees in the center of the island, having some difficulty in keeping up with his long strides. "But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you, so we can escape in the same way you did then."

Jack turned mid-stride, his extreme irritation at the situation beginning to show. "To what point and purpose, young missie? The _Black Pearl_ is gone, and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice." He gave that part of her of a quick once over. "Unlikely. Young Mr. Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."

Despite the fact that this was spoken with decided finality, she wouldn't be silenced for long. "But, you're Captain Jack Sparrow."

'As if that should make any difference." Jack thought, as he banged his fist on one of the palm trees, listening carefully to the sound. He couldn't think straight when he was sober, and right now, he was far to sober even for his liking. He needed the only good thing that this island had afforded him on his last stay.

Jack began walking (if you could call is walking) in a very goofy manner. It didn't seem as if he were listening to Elizabeth, who was growing increasingly desperate. Where was the brilliant escape strategy? Where was the Captain Jack Sparrow who could get himself out of any scrape or near death experience? "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Trading Company. You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot." Jack had stopped walking and was now hopping up and down on the sand. Elizabeth however, stopped him by grabbing him by the arm. "Are you the pirate I've read about or not?" The tone of her question made Jack pause for a moment and Elizabeth seized the opportunity. "How did you escape last time?"

Jack took a moment to run through the possible options of what he could tell her and realized that the only thing he could tell her was the truth. Taking her by the shoulders, he backed her up a few paces. "Lat time," this was painful. "I was here a grand total of three days, all right!" turning, he reached down and opened a trap door that had been hidden by the grass and sand. A short flight of steps led down into what resembled a cellar. Marie could just barely see barrels and bottles in the gloom. "Last time, the rumrunners used this island as a cache, came by and I was able to barter passage off." He descended into the cellar and looked around. He saw to his disappointment, but not necessarily surprise, that the place was in a sad state of disrepair. "From the looks of things, they've long been out of business." Marie heard him sifting through the bottles, "Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."

Jack finally emerged from the cellar, clutching three bottles that were all filled with an amber liquid. Marie was still trying to understand what he planned to do with them when he shoved one of the bottles into her hand, "Here, you'll be needin' this before the day is out."

Marie gave him a look. "And just what do you expect me to do with this?"

"Well, what do you think?" huffed Jack, "Bathe in it?"

Before Marie could respond, Elizabeth interrupted them. "So that's it, then?" She was disappointed and angry at this latest revelation of Jack's, all of her hopes and illusions shattered. "That's the secret, grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow." Her face was mere inches away from Jack's as she asked with scathing heat. "You spent three days lying on a beach drinking rum?"

Jack was silent for a moment, than holding up the two bottles of rum, he said, "Welcome to the Caribbean, luv." Without further ado, he pushed her aside and headed back to the beach.

Marie could see that Elizabeth was upset. "Did you honestly expect him to be able to get us out of this on just his wits alone?" she asked her pointedly, "Even one as good as Jack would need to have something to work with."

Elizabeth didn't want to admit that she knew Marie was right (and a part of Marie couldn't quite believe that she had just defended Jack Sparrow). Running after Jack, she intercepted him at the shore, "So is there any truth to the other stories?"

As soon as the question was asked, a change seemed to come over Jack's face. It seemed as though he lost all of his drunken chaos and a look came into his dark eyes that was filled loss and unspoken memories. Marie thought for a moment that she was looking at a completely different person, for she had never even dreamed that this side of Jack could exist.

Jack could see what Elizabeth had been expecting him to be: the epitome of piracy, the ultimate example of the idyllic and carefree life upon the high seas that the stories all painted. What Elizabeth refused to see was that those stories were based on here-say and gossip, told by people who had never spent a day of their lives on the sea. They had no idea of the danger and sacrifice that one had to make if you choose piracy. True Jack had gained his freedom, but it had been at a terrible price; he had had to give up safety, security, a home and a family. He didn't regret his choice; he had made it, it had been what he wanted, but he could never allow himself to forget the consequences that had to inevitable follow. Elizabeth had to see the truth behind the legend. She had to understand that behind every heroic story, there was almost always an ugly reality.

"Truth?" he questioned, in a tone that matched the look in his eyes.

He rolled up his right sleeve, revealing the tattoo of the flying sparrow over the sea, and the pirate brand that was right below it. He had received that when he had first run afoul of the East India Trading Company. It was the mark that had first set him onto piracy. Elizabeth had give it no more than a passing glance when she had first seen it, but now that she saw it the merciless glare of the sun, she saw just how alien it was to the rest of his surrounding skin. How hot would a brand have to be in order to be permanently engraved into your skin?

Jack then rolled up his other sleeve and both Marie and Elizabeth gaped unconsciously. A long, ugly scar stretched from Jack's wrist all the way up his arm. White lines of scar tissue sprouted from the main line of burned skin, making his arm appear to be some type of grotesque spider web. Neither of the two women wanted to think about what might have caused such a horrific injury.

Finally, Jack moved his short to the side. Two powder scars marred his chest. Either could have easily killed him.

Jack let Elizabeth gaze her fill, before finally saying, soberly, "No truth at all."

He had driven his point home. There was more to him, more to Jack Sparrow than near-death episodes and hair-breadth escapes. There was also reality.

Sitting down, he took one up one of the bottles of rum. "We still have a month, maybe more." He said, as he looked out to sea, "Keep a weather eye open for passin ships and our chances are fair." But even he knew that their situation was dismal. There was very little chance that they would be able to get out of this alive. He was too sober. He needed to forget his troubles. In short, he needed rum.

Elizabeth watched him take a deep draught of the rum, "And what about Will?" she asked softly, "We have to do something."

Jack looked up at her. "You're absolutely right." he rolled the bottle of rum down the beach to her and it came to rest at her feet. Taking up the other bottle, he held it up in a toast in the direction that the now distant _Pearl_ had gone. "Here's luck to ya, Will Turner."

Marie, since there was more or less nothing else to do, sat down beside Jack. "So," she said, "we're just going to sit here and drink ourselves into oblivion?"

Jack shrugged. "Nothing else better to do. Besides, rum can get you through the times when you don't have money better than times with money and no rum."

Marie stared at Jack. Slightly unsure how to translate what he had just said into regular English. "Look," said Jack, "just try it, what have you got to lose?"

Marie looked doubtfully at the bottle and the liquid which was swirling around in it. She had never had a drink of hard liquor in her life. And she had to admit that she didn't know how it would affect her.

"Go on." cajoled Jack, "Just one taste."

Rolling her eyes, Marie decided that she probably really didn't have anything else better to do, so she might as well take advantage of what entertainment was offered. She lifted the bottle to her lips and drank. Liquid fire instantly exploded in her mouth, and she began coughing and spitting. Looking at Jack in complete disbelief, she said, "Jack, you like this?"

"You've just got to let the taste grow on you. Sometimes it takes three or four bottle before you begin to get a taste for it."

"By the time you drank three or four bottles you would be so drunk you wouldn't even be able to notice the taste."

It was meant to be a put down, but instead Jack's face brightened, "Exactly my point, darlin'! You're starting to get the idea."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had picked up the bottle of rum and had seated herself beside Jack. Sighing in resignation, she said as she lifted the bottle to her lips, "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho."

Jack turned to look at Elizabeth, confused by the unfamiliar phrase. "What was that, Elizabeth?"

"It's Miss Swann." Snapped Elizabeth. Jack held up his hands and backed off, and apparently thought the conversation over, but she actually continued. "Nothing, just a song I learnt as a child when I actually thought it would be exciting to meet a pirate."

"Let's hear it." said Jack.

"No." said Elizabeth, defensively.

"Come on," said Jack, in obvious annoyance. "We got the time, let's have it."

"No." Elizabeth was silent for a moment, than said, "I'm going to need a little more to drink first."

Jack silently regarded her for a moment before he grinned and asked, "How much more?"

* * *

Again, I am sorry for the delay. You gotta love technology sometimes. At any rate, read and review. The next chapter should be up much sooner then this one.

Next chapter: It is amazing how a few bottles of rum can loosen tongues. As Jack and Marie learn the song that Elizabeth knew as a child, they begin to see just how much they feel for each other. Also look out for a drunken Marie.


	22. Chapter 22: To Be Free

Chapter 24: To be Free

Time passed very slowly on the island. In fact, it passed so slowly, that Marie began to understand why, in a situation such as this, a pistol with a single shot would sound pretty attractive before the first day of being marooned was out. For a mind as active and restless as Marie, the hours of enforced idleness were close to torture. The sun seemed to inch at a snail's pace across the bright blue sky, and the heat was nearly unbearable. It was a relief when the sun at least began dropping down into the west.

With twilight approaching, Jack began talking of the necessity of a fire, as the Caribbean air could develop a little nip at this time of year. Elizabeth volunteered to get the firewood. However, when she asked if Marie wanted to join her, she was surprised when the latter declined the invitation. Elizabeth had thought that Marie would welcome the chance to move her feet and get away from Jack for awhile. But since she seemed set in her course, Elizabeth did not attempt to argue with her.

Marie was also a little surprised with herself. Yet she also wanted the chance to talk with Jack privately, because she had something to ask him which was suited best for privacy.

Jack himself had been noticing that for the past few hours Marie had been staring at him in a way that he couldn't quite identity. When they were at last alone, he asked her point blank, "Marie is there something you want to ask me?"

Marie was caught off guard by the abrupt question, "What makes you think that I have anything to ask you?"

"Well, my intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled."

Marie raised her eyebrows. "You can't be that 'intuitive' about the female creature if the women we encountered in Tortuga are any indication."

"Stick to the subject, Marie? What do you want to ask me?"

Marie couldn't make up any more excuses, not when Jack had cornered her in such a manner. "Well, since you put it that way, I do want to ask you something, and for once I would like a serious answer." Marie took a moment to gather her courage, than she plunged on, "Jack, how did my father die?"

A long silence followed this question and for a moment, Marie wondered if Jack had even heard her, but than he quietly said, "Do you really want to know?"

Marie nodded, "Yes."

"It's not a story to be told to the faint of heart."

"You told me only recently that you thought me no ordinary woman. Being such, don't try to get out of this."

Jack sighed heavily, "All right, but don't say I didn't warn you." He paused, searching for the right words. "You'll have to understand, I don't know the particulars; it's just mainly rumors, gossip. Your brother and ol' Bill had more than looks in common; they were also both too honest for their own good. Bill apparently had some strong words of criticism for Barbossa's actions after they marooned me. He said it wasn't right with the code. Barbossa didn't listen, which would ultimately turn out to be a very bad mistake. Bill wasn't one to be taken lightly, a lot like you in that regard. He sent off a piece of the treasure to Will, so that the Curse couldn't be lifted. Of course, as you can imagine, Barbossa wasn't too thrilled with that. He chained Bootstrap to a cannon and then threw him overboard to Davy Jones locker." Marie looked horrified by what she was hearing. Jack nodded, feeling compassionate for her, despite himself. "If it's any comfort, Marie, he probably didn't beg or plead for his life. He had courage; you an' Will both have that in common with him."

"Well, it's nice to know that I had something in common with him." Muttered Marie, almost unconsciously.

"Why do you say that?" asked Jack.

Marie was silent for a few minutes, before she said, "To be quite honest, I never felt that there was much that I had in common with my father. By the time he, he left, we had grown apart. It took me a long time for me to forgive him for leaving me and Will, or our mother. I don't even know if I have forgiven him completely, yet. Actually, before I met you, I never wanted to even think about him or what he was in my life."

"Well, Marie, if it's any consolation, your father did love you. I remember he also used to talk about you with this gleam in his eye that was different even from Will. I think that where other fathers might have been ashamed to have a daughter who was so spirited, it was the thing that Bill was most proud of in you. He always wanted the best for you, I know. And I also know that he regretted leaving you and Will. He hoped that you would find a better way then he did."

Marie laughed, "And yet, here I am, sitting here on the beach of a deserted island, drinking rum with on of the most notorious pirates in history."

"That's probably one of the nicest things you've said about me in the whole course of our acquaintance." Said Jack, "Though, even now, I think that Bill would have been proud of you; you really are his daughter, Marie. I think that's what part of the pleasure of knowin' you has been for me."

Marie felt herself blushing slightly. "Thank you, Jack. That's probably the nicest thing _you _have said to _me_."

"And I meant every word, luv." Said Jack, with usual seriousness.

It wasn't much later when Elizabeth returned. A fire was soon started, and it was at this point that Jack inquired whether or not Elizabeth had had enough to drink to teach them the song which she had started singing earlier that day. It took a little coaxing, by both Marie and Jack, but eventually Elizabeth taught them the song. As it turned out, the two were quick learners and it wasn't long before the three of them were all singing and dancing around the fire. The ocean, palm trees and the shinning stars high overhead were the only witnesses to the singing trio, as they danced freely around the roaring fire.

"We're devils, we're black sheep

We're really bad eggs,

Drink up me hearties, yo ho

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."

"Oh, I love this song!" crowed Jack, was so inebriated by this time that he could hardly speak straight. He caught Elizabeth by the arm and twirled her drunkenly around and than repeated the action with Marie.

"Really bad eggs!" he repeated enthusiastically. However, his faculties weren't working too well at this point and the normal act of standing suddenly became a feat that he couldn't do.

He collapsed with a thud on the sand. Marie flopped down beside him, laughing hysterically. Though not nearly as drunk by this time as Jack, she was not by any means stone cold sober. There was a pleasant buzzing in her head produced by the rum and she was feeling a whole lot better about life than she had for a very long time.

Jack pulled down an equally drunken Elizabeth beside him. "When I get the _Pearl _back," he said, "I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew and we'll sing it all the time." Thanks to the lovely, glorious rum he had imbibed, he now believed that it would be only a matter of time until he was standing once more on the deck of his beloved _Pearl_.

"I don't suppose that you have an opening do you?" inquired Marie, whose speech was only a bit more intelligible than Jack's at this point.

"Oh, aye, luv, there's always room for one more. You can even be First Mate if you like."

"First Mate Marie." She repeated, "I think I rather like the sound of that."

"And you will be positively the most fearsome pirates in the Spanish Main." Declared Elizabeth.

"Not just the Spanish Main, luv, the entire ocean, the entire world." Jack raised his hand, gesturing to the vast expanse of the sea, and it seemed to Marie as if he were trying to caress the sea itself. "Wherever we want to go, we go. That's what a ship is, ya know. It's not just a keel, a rudder and a deck and sails; that's what a ship _needs_, but what a ship _is_." he paused for a moment, his eyes growing far away and sad, his hand reaching out even further, fingers reaching to the distant horizon, as is trying to touch the _Black Pearl_ itself. "What the _Black Pearl _really is, is freedom."

As Jack was saying this, Marie listened far closer than she had ever listened to him before. It had never occurred to her until now the connection that existed between her and Jack. The way he described the sea, as if it were a living being that could take and give, nurture and destroy in the blink of an eye. The very fact that the sea was unpredictable was why Jack seemed to love it so much. How often had she looked out to that place where the sky met the sea, dreaming of adventures in far distant lands? She had longed to escape to a place where she could be free and independent of all the strictures that society placed on her. The sea had given her both heartbreak, when it had claimed her father and she had maybe only recently discovered that it could be the only answer for her desire to be truly free.

Is that why she was so suddenly so entranced by Jack Sparrow face? She suddenly found that she could not take her eyes from him. She had to admit that she had never taken the time to study him closely, but now that she did, she couldn't deny the intense attraction of his looks. Perhaps she could understand why Jack had such a notorious reputation with the ladies.

Jack, who, even when drunk enough to not to tell the difference between a mast and anchor, could still be aware of the fact that someone was staring at him. Turning to Marie's penetrating gaze, he asked, "Somethin' wrong, Marie?"

"No, it's nothing perhaps. You just describe something, Jack, which I have always dreamed of, but has always seemed beyond my reach."

"What, you mean freedom? Well, surely you've got that already, I mean, you and Will-"

"Will is the only one who understands me." Said Marie, with a bitter laugh. "He's the only one who doesn't try to change who I am. But everyone else in this world expects me to conform to their standards of proper behavior. They want me to wear dresses, to speak low and politely, and more often, to be seen and not heard. Sometimes, I wonder if they would prefer that I did not just disappear from the face of the earth."

"They want you to disappear? That's seems like a rather odd request to make of someone like you."

"Why, look at me, Jack, isn't the answer obvious?"

Jack did look at her and the moment he did so, it became impossible for him to look away. Why had he never noticed that Marie was so pretty? That long chestnut hair, which had come loose from her braid, and was now whipping around her face in the summer wind. The firelight reflecting off her skin made him feel hypnotized. Than there were her eyes, those eyes that were normally so indicative of how she was feeling, but now were utterly entrancing to him. In the shifting light of the fire, they moved and danced just like a wild, untamable ocean, the ocean that he loved so much.

"Honestly, luv, I don't see anything that anyone could possibly object, too."

"Than you obviously don't see what everyone else sees. I don't care what other people think of me, but sometimes, I just want to be free to be myself, and not have anyone else to tell me how to do it."

Jack was silent for a moment, as he processed Marie's frustration. "You don't have anything to be ashamed of, Marie. Ye've got a lot to be proud of, actually, which is more than many people can say at your time of life. Maybe it's not me with the problem. Perhaps it's really the rest of the world that had trouble seeing you."

Marie looked back at Jack to respond, but suddenly found that she could not speak, so captivated was by Jack's deep brown eyes, so deep that she felt like she could drown in them. She couldn't pull herself away, and found that she didn't want too.

Perhaps this unexpected moment of intimacy, for it really could be called nothing else, would be uncharacteristic for either Marie or Jack. However, it must be remembered that both of them had consumed inordinate amounts of rum, so it is really no surprise that, stripped as they were of certain barriers, certain feelings were beginning to come, almost unknowingly, to the surface.

Unfortunately, it also made them both forget completely about Elizabeth. Though it must be admitted that she was watching them with a great deal of interest, she was yet trying furiously to figure out how to put an end to it. She had been developing a plan in her mind for the past few hours and the first step involved getting Jack, shall we say, comatose.

Thinking quickly, she pillowed her head against Jack's shoulder, and feigning drunkenness, said, "Jack, it must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island."

Jack, even though he had been enjoying looking at Marie, was yet still a pirate. When opportunity knocked, he wasn't one to leave the door unanswered. "Oh, yes." He wrapped one of his arms around Elizabeth's shoulders, unaware of Marie's suddenly confused expression. "But the company is infinitely better then last time, and the scenery has definitely improved."

Jack wasn't being exactly aware of anything that happened that night, and he was to caught up in trying to seduce Elizabeth that he didn't really notice the disgusted reaction on her face as she looked at the arm around her shoulders. She didn't really want Jack to think that he could win her so easily, especially since his choice of words wasn't exactly original.

Marie, meanwhile, was watching this whole thing not only with confusion, but also, to her surprise, slight jealousy. She was jealous that Elizabeth now seemed to be enjoying Jack's attention. The reason for the confusion was the fact that she had no idea at all why she should be feeling jealous in the first place. She had never been jealous of Elizabeth for any reason before in her life. Why should she do so now? The answer came to her in a flash: Jack. Jack was what set this episode apart from any other. But if she was jealous of Elizabeth because of Jack, then did that mean…

Before Marie could finish the thought, Elizabeth wormed her way out of Jack's embrace and said, prim and proper, or at least, as prim and proper as one can sound when one is drunk (or in Elizabeth's case, pretending to be drunk). "Mr. Sparrow, I'm not entirely sure I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk."

Jack wasted no time in playing along with what he thought was Elizabeth's game, "I know exactly what you mean, luv." With that, he placed his fingers on his mustache and the twirled the ends, making it appear, as he thought himself, far more suave than he had been before.

Elizabeth, in any other circumstance would have burst out laughing. Jack hardly looked like a Spanish Don Juan; the only he thing he had managed to accomplish was looking uncommonly silly, even for Jack. But, instead of laughing, she felt herself panicking. Jack wasn't backing down. If she didn't do something soon, there was no telling how far Jack would push this. Grasping at a straw, she raised her bottle of rum, trying to ignore the fact that Jack's fingers were tangling themselves in her hair, "To freedom."

Jack looked first at the bottle than Elizabeth. "To the _Black Pearl_." He amended grandly, before clicking his bottle with that of Elizabeth. With that statement, he threw his head back and proceeded to drink and drink, and then, perhaps not unsurprisingly, drink some more.

Marie, who had been raising her own bottle to drink, found that he appetite for rum lapsing for a moment when she heard the sounds of Jack's loud gulping. Marie looked at Jack with slightly raised eyebrows, then at the bottle in her own hand and decided against joining in the toast.

Elizabeth lifted her own bottle to her lips, but did not actually drink. Instead, she watched Jack out of the corner of her eye, counting the seconds. It could not be long now.

She was right. Jack fell back on the sound with a decided thump, totally unaware to the last that he had been tricked.

"Finally." Said Elizabeth, sounding relieved.

Marie, who hadn't been expecting Jack's sudden unconsciousness and not exactly in her own right mind herself, was not all that pleased to hear this. "Finally? What do you mean, finally?"

"I mean he's finally out of the way. At last, I was wondering if he would ever lose consciousness. Now we can finally work on a way of getting out of here that doesn't involve just drinking ourselves into oblivion."

Marie snorted. "Elizabeth, haven't you noticed? There isn't any way to get off this island. We don't have a boat and if you're thinking of using any of the trees on this island to use a boat, I wouldn't recommend it. We can't use the cocoanut trees to build a boat because that would mean that we wouldn't have any food to survive on while we stay here. Granted, I don't want to survive on cocoanuts anymore than you do, but that doesn't mean we should get rid of them to try for an escape attempt that won't work."

None of this made any sense, though it wasn't exactly a surprise to Elizabeth. She sat and listened to Marie with a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth, "Marie, you're drunk."

As with most people who have consumed too much alcohol, Marie didn't think she was drunk, despite all external signs to the contrary. "I am _not _drunk!" she declared, trying to get to her feet where she could glare down at Elizabeth for making such a ridiculous statement. Unfortunately, the land under her seemed starting to be spinning crazily and she was unable to remain standing.

Elizabeth watched as Marie fell in an ungraceful heap on the sand. "You were saying?"

"I meant to do that." Mumbled Marie, but even she could admit that she sounded anything but convincing.

"Well, since you are so thoroughly convinced that you're not drunk, you can help me carry up those barrels of rum from the caller in the morning."

"What did you say?" asked Marie, shocked by what she had just heard.

"We're going to burn the rum." Said Elizabeth, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Wait a second, we? What makes you think I'll help you?"

"Do you want use to get out of this or not?"

"Well, yes. But are you sure we have to do something so, well, drastic?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "If we burn the rum in the cellar, the smoke signal will be enough to attract the attention of any Royal Navy ship that's out looking for me."

"And if we should happen to attract attention other then the kind we want?"

"That's the risk we have to take. I'm not going to sit here for another month and let Jack Sparrow keep pawing all over me."

"Oh, you seemed to be enjoying it enough a few minutes ago." Marie shot back.

"That was part of my plan, and why should you care about Jack?"

"What plan?" asked Marie, (choosing not to answer Elizabeth's question about Jack). But, as soon as she asked the question, she saw the knowing glint in Elizabeth's eyes and she immediately understood without her having to elaborate. "The rum. You planned to use the rum to get Jack drunk? You engineered this whole thing?" Elizabeth nodded, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"When could I have had the opportunity? I would have you if you had come with me to get firewood but you opted to stay here with Jack. I don't know why this should come as such a surprise. It's exactly the sort of plan you would have come up with, if you weren't so attracted to Jack Sparrow."

Marie turned to look at her in complete shock and disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, it's exactly the sort of plan-"

"I heard what you said; Elizabeth, but you can't mean what you said. In fact, I'm not sure if you said what you said. Did you say what you said? Did you mean what I thought you meant when you said what I thought you said?"

Elizabeth looked at Marie blankly, "What did you say?"

Marie groaned, noticing that the buzzing in her head was beginning to turn into a pounding headache. "I don't know what I said. I've even forgotten what you said."

"You mean, the part about you being attracted to Jack Sparrow?"

"Yes, that's it. I'm not attracted to Jack Sparrow."

"You said the same thing about being drunk."

Marie tried to find some witty answer to this, but the pounding in her head had robbed her of the ability to make crushing replies. "Elizabeth, just tell me what you're point is and get it over with."

It's quite simple, really. You're attracted to Jack; you just don't want to admit it, to yourself or anyone else."

"Elizabeth, you must be drunker than I am if you can seriously think that."

"See, that's exactly what I'm trying to say."

"How could I possibly be attracted to Jack? Elizabeth, haven't you noticed? All we ever do is fight."

"And when did you ever find a man like Jack? He's a match for you in more ways than one. Besides, you weren't arguing a few minutes ago. You must have felt something when you were staring at each other a few minutes ago."

Marie, despite the fact that she wanted to vehemently deny everything that Elizabeth was saying, couldn't deny in her heart that she just might have a point. What had been that warm feeling that had encompassed her all over earlier that day, a feeling that had been so exhilarating and frightening at the same time? Could what Elizabeth be saying be true? Surely not, but then again…

"Look, Elizabeth just drop it all right? I'm not attracted to Jack and that's the end of it."

"Well, if you say so. Though if you ask me, you're already in pretty badly."

"I don't believe that I did ask you." She sighed and changed the subject, "When do you plan on burning the rum?"

"There's no need to do anything right now. We need to get some sleep. It would be best to wait till dawn."

"Good." Said Marie, "I might be over this headache by then."

"And I thought you were actually starting to enjoy it."

"I was, then you made me think about it. I suppose I'll be needing more of it in the future."

Elizabeth looked at her, before finally getting to her feet. "Good night, Marie."

"Good night, Elizabeth." Marie replied, as Elizabeth left her sitting on the beach. Alone, she looked up at the stars overhead, mulling over the questions which Elizabeth had raised, questions that she had not wanted to face until now, and which now seemed to have no definite answer.

* * *

I sure hope everyone you enjoyed this. This is probably one of my favorite parts of the movie and I think I captured it pretty well. As always, read and review.

Next chapter: We finally see what Emma and James have been up to during this little rescue mission and just what has been changing between them. Needless to say, it is quite unexpected in several ways. Also, Jack becomes quite philosophical as he answers the ultimate question, why is the rum gone? Well, it's philosophical for Jack at any rate. Look for that to be up soon.


	23. Chapter 23: Rescue

Chapter 24: Rescue

Dawn over the Caribbean was said to be a lovely sight. And it took on an added significance when it was seen from the deck of a ship. Emma Swann, who hadn't been on a ship but once in her life, was finding that this was indeed true. She was watching the breathtaking panorama of colors spreading over the Caribbean Sea from the deck of the _Dauntless_. The rising sun was casting its golden light over the water, making the sea look like an unbroken sheet of gold, while the water itself was undulating and moving with the moving wind.

The sight was breathtaking; even if she had seen it every morning since the voyage to rescue Elizabeth had begun. It had been rather a strange trip, to say the least. Instead of a dangerous rescue mission against hostile forces, there had been times when it had seemed like a pleasurable holiday. She couldn't describe it. A large part of it undoubtedly was James. She had seen a side of him that she had rarely gotten a chance to see. When he was on the sea, commanding his men, he seemed so much more free and relaxed. Something in his demeanor changed minutely, that could not be put all into words. Perhaps it was the way that he offered a smile and a word of encouragement to the odd sailor who was having difficulty, the way that he would unquestionably give his life to save any of them, and since this mission had for him a personal stake, the unspoken loyalty between captain and crew seemed to run even deeper.

The last voyage Emma had taken had been commanded by a man of middle age who seemed to be more concerned with living in his cabin surrounded by the luxuries of command rather then braving the rougher elements amongst the crew. James had more or less commanded that voyage. And here, he had gone even further. He had been on deck everyday, sleeping very little and concentrating all his efforts on not only making the mission to rescue Elizabeth a success, but also that he would do it with as few deaths as possible.

And, then there had been his behavior toward herself and her father. He had been attentive and caring to their needs, especially since her father was less than comfortable at sea (he had become sick with sheer tossing and turning of the _Dauntless_ in even relatively calm seas). But it was the way in which he had acted around her that had most attracted her attention. It had been by turns both shy and confidant, as though he sometimes didn't know what to say around her, but still wanted to find some excuse to converse with her. It was not at all like she had ever seen him, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Her mind continued to say that it was nothing and she should ignore it. And yet, her heart could not be silenced from whispering to her the small message of hope which she had tried to bury so long ago.

Emma was contemplating these things as she watched the dawn over the Caribbean, but her solitude was not destined to last. The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn and saw him standing before her. She had to stop her heart from beating faster at the sight of him. "James." She whispered unconsciously. She then blushed and hoped that he had not heard her, as she amended. "Commodore."

"Miss Swann, I hope that I am not disturbing you." He said. Emma opened her mouth to respond, but James kept right on talking, as though he could not stop himself. "Because, if I am, then I can go, but I would rather-"

Emma, despite herself, had to laugh. It wasn't often that she saw James tongue-tied. "No, please, Commodore, you are more than welcome. Please, join me. Our long years of friendship should have made you know that no uncertainty on her part is necessary."

"I just know that you've been ondeck every morning since we left Port Royal. I didn't want to interrupt anything that might have been private."

As James came up to stand beside her, he felt strange warmth as she smiled her gentle smile at him. "I just come up here to be on my own. It's so beautiful and peaceful. I suppose you could say that I need some time to myself. What with me being the only woman on this ship, it has felt rather, awkward for me at times."

"Yes, I suppose that would be true. Although, if I may say, the men on this ship would in no way ever try to compromise you. I believe that your reputation for helping those beneath you with such unfeigned generosity precedes you in many circles. For some of them, this is their first voyage. They are so young; they are frightened and unsure and they miss their families very much. They try not to show such things, but I always sense it. I never censure them for it, though. I was once like them as well."

"You care for your men a great deal, don't you, James?"

"Yes, I do. Whenever a crewmember is assigned to me, their lives become my responsibility. If one of them dies under my command, I always feel as though I have let them down, somehow. I can never forget that, but it's a heavy burden. I sometimes don't know how I can give an order which could lead to the death of any number of them."

"James," said Emma, placing a hand lightly on his arm, "this crew, these men will give their lives for you at the slightest order. I cannot know all that you go through, but let me assure you, that whatever I can ever do to lighten your load, I will do gladly."

James suddenly couldn't speak. The earnest look on her face made it clear that she meant every word. And for some reason, that made him feel even more uncomfortable. Indeed, there was something about this whole situation involving Emma which disturbed him greatly, though he tried to hide it.

Over the past few days, he had begun to feel something in Emma's presence that he had never before felt with any woman, not even Elizabeth. He had come to see Emma in almost a completely new light. True, he had always respected her and cherished her friendship. But now he began to feel admiration turning to something deeper. He had seen in her strength and courage which he had never had an opportunity to see before. Where others would have complained of the inevitable hardship and accommodation of the poor traveling conditions onboard a ship, she had hidden any discomfort she might have felt. She had not cried or engaged in fake fainting spells during the storm, but had huddled with her father in the main cabin, and though frightened, had never uttered a squeak.

It was these things and others like them which had first alerted him to just how much he was feeling for Emma. Had he not had a firmer hold on his emotions, he would have said that he was falling in love, but he was already, or so he told himself, in love with Elizabeth. But the peculiar and, possibly most disturbing, thing to him was that though he had only felt these things in just the last few days, he was beginning to think that they had maybe been there much longer. And now that James felt himself aware of them, he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to let them go, despite what they potentially represented.

"James," her soft voice brought him out of his thoughts and he came back to the present. Emma was still holding his arm, a touch that sent warmth through his veins that he could not suppress (and subconsciously, he didn't really want to). Her eyes were worried, "There is something that I wish to ask you, confidentially, of course. Do you really think that the wreckage we passed yesterday was from the _Interceptor_?"

James was about to give her the answer he had given her father when they had passed by the smoking remnants of a ship the day before, but he stopped himself. Emma deserved to know the truth. "Yes, Emma. I'm sure that it was."

"Than do you think that there is any chance?"

"Honestly, Emma, I don't know. Realistically, there is really very little chance that anyone could have escaped from a blast of that magnitude. Our only hope is that Elizabeth was not on the _Interceptor_ or is still on the _Black Pearl_, though either of those options isn't very comforting. At the very least, if she is in the _Black Pearl_, there is a chance that she might still be alive."

Emma seemed to process what she had been told and then squared her shoulder resolutely and said, "I shall continue to hope. It's the only thing that can be done."

"As it is for us all." Replied James.

A silence came over them, then, but it was not exactly what could be called strictly companionable. There was an undercurrent that both felt, though it was impossible for them to know that the other was experiencing it as well. There were things they both would have liked to say, but they could find neither the words to say nor the courage to say them.

It came as something of a relief to them both when a legitimate excuse came to break the silence. Emma suddenly spoke up, "James, what it is that over there to the east?" she pointed.

James turned to look at what she was indicating. Sure enough, highlighted perfectly against the blue sky, a thick black column was rising upwards. "I see it." Said James, "It looks like a smoke signal."

"Someone calling for help?"

"Yes, possibly." James turned to look back at her and the same though came to them both instantly.

"You don't think that it could be…" said Emma, unable to complete the thought.

"There's a small chance."

"But it's enough of one." Said Emma.

James smiled slightly, "It's more than enough of one, Emma." Then he was off, shouting orders to his men, to change course to the east.

Emma turned back to look at the slowly rising smoke signal. "Please," she prayed, "let it be Elizabeth, and let her be safe.

* * *

Jack would only remember two things vividly that morning. Everything else would be pretty much lost in haziness (or so he would say. Most likely, he just didn't want to remember). Those two things were first a splitting headache and an acrid smell that he could only identify as smoke. But there was something about it that wasn't exactly like smoke, as if there were an extra element mixed into it.

He opened his eyes, and instantly regretted it when the bright Caribbean sun stabbed him in the retinas. The only thing that he remembered about the night before mainly consisted of rum, singing and two very attractive women; not a bad memory by any means but where was that smell coming from? He turned from looking at the sky (a relief in more than one way), to look at the man land of the island. He saw the blurry images of two people moving in and around the swaying palm trees; they appeared to be carrying a round object between the two of them, moving it to a grey billowing cloud. Wait a minute, round object? Billowing cloud? Two people?

The situation hit Jack like a hammer breaking glass (which did nothing to relieve his headache). He got laboriously to his feet, and stared at the unfolding scene with complete and utter disbelief. Elizabeth and Marie were both carrying between them a barrel of rum from the cellar. Throwing into the black, billowing cloud of smoke, they retreated a couple steps, but were still knocked off their feet by the force of the blast from the rum.

_THE RUM!!!!_ They were burning the rum!! Jack's eyes widened with horror and he began flailing his arms and shouting in desperation, "No! Not good! Stop! Not good!" The usual quick-silver of his words seemed to have failed him for some strange reason. He hurried towards them, frantic to stop them. "You burned all the food, the shade, the rum!"

"Yes." Said Elizabeth, who had walked past him and was standing on the beach, looking out to sea, "The rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?' Jack demanded, trying to sound threatening and failing rather miserably.

Elizabeth whipped around to face him, her voice sounding like she was dealing with an idiot, "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me; do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"

Jack could hardly believe what he was hearing. These two, harpies, had burned his lovely, glorious rum for a one time, miniscule chance that they would be rescued? How could anyone with half a brain have seen the logic in that? "But why is the rum gone?" he repeated, still having trouble wrapping his mind around this whole thing.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. There no use explaining anything to Jack. He would probably still object if he understood everything perfectly. Turning away from him, she plopped down on the beach. "Just you wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, and you will see white sails on that horizon."

Jack's shocked disbelief had been replaced by irrational anger, and Elizabeth's pert manner did nothing to improve his mood. He grabbed the pistol from his belt and for a few seconds was almost tempted, but he managed to restrain him, though only with a great deal of difficulty. He wasn't about to give Barbossa any satisfaction by following his murderous advice. He wasn't going to shoot the lady, though he felt the complete opposite of a gentleman at the moment. That bullet was meant for one man and one man alone.

Stuffing the pistol back into his sash, he looked behind him at Marie, who was standing a few feet away, with the barest hint of a smirk showing on her mouth.

"Do you see something funny in this? You enjoy seeing a grown man being tortured?"

"Ordinarily, I wouldn't, but you're not really acting like a grown man right now. In fact, Elizabeth is acting far more mature at this moment than you are."

Jack was completely flustered by this time. "I never thought that you would go along with something like this, Marie."

Marie couldn't help but laugh at Jack's expression, "Jack, you make it sound as though I've betrayed you to a gruesome death. All we did was born some rum. The world is full of rum. This won't be the last time you're able to drink it and get drunk. Besides, this is partly your fault."

"My fault?" said Jack, "How in the world can you think that disaster is my fault?"

"I don't recall either myself or Elizabeth drinking ourselves into unconsciousness last night. If you had been able to control yourself better, none of this would have happened."

Jack was trying in vain to come up with some way of making Marie shut up, but she was talking him in circles. He had to get out of the presence of women before they drove him even madder.

He began stalking away up the beach, in high bad humor. Marie watched him for a few seconds, before sitting down beside Elizabeth. "He will be back you know. I don't think we've heard the last of this."

"I am terrified. Don't worry; he'll come around, though he wouldn't admit it, probably. Still if he _does_ feel a need to get physical, I shall give both of you ample privacy."

Marie cast a glance at Elizabeth, "Are you saying I would enjoy something like that?"

Elizabeth merely shrugged. "I only stand by what I said. Whether or not you choose to see anything in it is your own decision."

"You, Elizabeth, are the master of answering a question without actually answering it."

The two of them actually laughed at this, and then Marie began speaking again. "Suppose, just suppose, that you were right about what you said last night. Suppose that I really was attracted to Jack Sparrow." Elizabeth looked at her, "And I'm not saying that I am, but if I was, which I'm not, would you happen to have any advice as to what to do about it?"

"Speaking hypothetically, of course, you've never been in love have you?"

"When I have ever had the opportunity?"

"You have a point. Something tells me, though, that is all about to change."

"That's not exactly the advice I was looking for."

"I haven't come to me advice yet. And my advice is that you should enjoy it. Falling in love with someone like Jack will be a great adventure."

"If I was really falling in love with Jack."

"Of course, only if."

Marie looked at Elizabeth, who was smilingly knowingly. "Stop it, Elizabeth." Said Marie, struggling not to smile herself.

But it was a lost cause. The two burst out laughing, though perhaps not at necessarily the same thing, before settling down to wait.

* * *

Jack stomped down the beach, cursing all of womankind, and two specimens in particular. Oh, yes, he remembered well enough how that dark-haired beauty had so bewitched him the night before during his drunken euphoria. He had been such a fool to fall for it so completely. For all he knew, she had probably been in on Elizabeth's plot all along. And she had dealt him a grievous blow, one that he would probably never recover from. At least, not for awhile, maybe only a couple of days, but it had been a grievous blow nonetheless. The only thing that had really been wounded was Jack's pride and that was wound enough. He, Jack Sparrow had been outwitted by two women. He would never be able to live this down. He was also too angry to consider deeply the fact that Marie had attracted him last night. Instead, he went straight from Marie to Elizabeth.

"'Must have been terrible for you to be trapped here, Jack, must have been terrible for you.'" He said, mocking what Elizabeth had said to him the night before. He turned around and shouted back up the beach. "Well, it bloody is, now." He hoped that they could hear him, and that they knew they had ruined his life.

He turned and once began his sulky pilgrimage up the beach. However, he got no more than a few steps, when he stopped dead in his tracks. There, less then half-a-league from the island's shore, was the _Dauntless_, and coming ever closer to the island was a long-boat filled with Marines.

Jack didn't need to be told that despite all his objections, Elizabeth's plan had worked to perfection. "There'll be no living with either of them after this." He muttered, sheepishly.

* * *

I hope everyone liked this chapter. I don't know if we ever found out the answer to why the rum was gone, but than again, that is a question to which there are multiple answers. The next couple chapter will be a bit shorter than the previous ones have been, but I think they'll still be pretty good.

Next chapter: A proposal is accepted, but instead of bringing joy, happiness and "drinks all around" it brings only heartbreak and confusion. James is perhaps beginning to see that his feelings for Emma are changing, but it might too late for him to change them.

As always, read and review.


	24. Chapter 24: Proposal Accepted

* * *

Hello all. So, since these next two chapters are a little short, I have deiced to combine them. They are not exactly the most exciting chapters in terms of action, but I hope that getting a glimpse into the psychological realm of the characters will be interesting and enjoyable for everyone. So, enough about me, just start reading and enjoy.

Chapter 25: Proposal Accepted

It wasn't long before the longboat reached the small island, and it seemed an even shorter trip back to the _Dauntless_. It seemed so to Jack, at least, who suspected that his would be a one-way trip to the brig, and from there, most likely, the hangman's noose.

The first person to meet them was Emma, who embraced Elizabeth with obvious relief and happiness. "Oh, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, thank God. Are you alright?"

"Yes, Emma. We both are." Said Elizabeth, looking back at Marie.

"It's good to see you, Emma." Said Marie, "You're the first friendly face we have seen in days."

Before Emma could respond her father came forward, the relief that his daughter was safe mirroring Emma's own. "Elizabeth." He hugged her gratefully, "At last. I have been so worried about you, we all have." He looked off towards Commodore Norrington, who had been momentarily concerned with getting Jack Sparrow under proper restraint and was just now coming to join them.

"Elizabeth," he said, before he could think of the propriety of using her Christian name, "Miss Turner, I am overjoyed to see you both unharmed. We will set sail for Port Royal immediately. I'm sure you must be anxious to return home."

"Port Royal?" said Elizabeth, shocked, "We can't go back yet. We have to follow the _Black Pearl_. Will is still onboard, they plan to kill him."

"Elizabeth," said the Governor, "we set out to find, we have found you, so we're not going to be making any more risky side trips."

"But, we've got to save, Will." Objected Elizabeth.

""No!" repeated Swann firmly, "We will return to Port Royal at once, not go gallivanting after pirates."

"Then we condemn him to death?" demanded Elizabeth.

Swann stopped beside Commodore Norrington, who was looking slightly uncomfortable, as though he didn't entirely agree with the choice the Governor was making. He knew there was great sense to Swann's argument, and that he was making it only for the safety of his daughter, but still, why did he feel slightly guilty at the idea of leaving Mr. Turner behind?

As it was, the Governor had to try and make Elizabeth understand the wisdom of this move entirely on his own. "The boy's fate is regrettable," he said, choosing his words carefully, "but then so is his decision to engage in piracy."

"To rescue me!" exclaimed Elizabeth, "To prevent anything from happening to me."

"And if hadn't been for Will and I," said Marie, stepping forward to back Elizabeth's attack, "you're daughter would have been killed, although not before the pirates would have done many other things first."

"Please, Miss Turner." Said Swann, who was beginning to look a little flustered now that he had two strong-willed women set completely against him. "This is a family affair and you don't-"

"What do you mean family affair? This is _my _brother we're talking about, if you haven't forgotten and I deserve to have as much a say in his fate, if not more, because of that."

Jack chose this moment to interject his own say in the matter. "If I may be so bold as to state my professional opinion," He set his sights on convincing the Commodore, since he sensed in his a weakness that he could exploit. "The _Pearl_ was listing near to scuppers after the battle; it's very unlikely she'd be able to make good time." A flicker of emotion flashed across the Commodore's face. Pressing his advantage, Jack leaned into Norrington's face and said in his most charming voice. "Think about it, the _Black Pearl,_ the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, Mate. How you can pass that up, right?"

Norrington very nearly took the bait. It would be a perfect excuse to retrieve Mr. Turner, and gain his goal of eradicating the threat of piracy in the Caribbean would almost certainly be achieved. And there was also the fact that it could very well earn him a free path to an Admiralty. But, then, he stopped himself. That kind of thinking was the thinking of pirates, self-centered, free-wheeling brutes that would promise one thing and kill whatever was in their way to get it. It had been that selfishness which had taken his family from him and the very thing he had swore never to become. "By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." His voice was cold and final. Norrington turned away sharply from Jack and began to climb the stairs to the wheel.

Emma was about to step in to try and persuade James. She wanted to see Will rescued just as much Elizabeth did, and she knew that if she could persuade James, then her father would be much more apt to follow his advice. But Elizabeth beat her before she could even open her mouth to speak.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this, for me." Desperate for the Commodore to change his mind, she grasped at the one straw, the one bargaining chip that she possessed and before she could even think of the consequences, she had blurted out, "As a wedding gift."

A stunned silence greeted this statement. Everyone had a completely different reaction to what had just been said. Jack's own face was one of befuddled confusion, as if he wasn't sure exactly what had happened. Marie just stared at Elizabeth in open mouth shock. But most striking of all was the effect which this announcement produced in James and Emma.

To Emma, it seemed as if the entire world had just come crashing down around her. She had been living in a state of hopeful dreaming for the past few days. She thought that she had been able to detect something from James that might indicate a change in his feelings. Now, she saw that any conjectures she had ever entertained of herself and James were irrevocably over. And to lose him to the one person she had always trusted with her secret, her own sister, made her pain at this moment all the worse. All the masks were removed for that one short time, and the anger, hurt and sense of betrayal could be plainly seen.

And for James, the very moment when he should have been happy, he was only confused and, for some reason, suddenly and deeply troubled. True, Elizabeth had just accepted his proposal, but, he couldn't help but notice that she had done so only after he had so vehemently denied that he would go after William Turner. Had she only said it to make him do just that? He knew to be capable of such drastic action, but would she go this far? Did she even really mean it?

And then, he saw Emma. Why did that look n her face pierce his heart like a knife and make him regret every attention he had ever paid to her sister? But she had encouraged him, guided him, should she not be happy that her labors were bearing fruit? But the look on her face made it clear to James that she was anything but happy. Something, he felt, was very wrong with this, though just what that was, he didn't know.

The Governor alone of any of the people present seemed pleased with the announcement that he daughter had just made, unexpected though it might have been. "Elizabeth," he said, with obvious delight, "are you accepting the Commodore's proposal.

Elizabeth couldn't bring herself to look behind her at Emma. She could already feel her sister's eyes burning a hole into her back. But, this was the only way to save Will, and she would have done anything to save him, even if it meant doing this. She faced Norrington and said the words which would seal her fate forever. "I am."

"A wedding." Declared Jack, with his usual enthusiasm, "I love weddings! Drinks all around!" He was cut short by Marie's daggerish glare. He suddenly had the feeling that he had once again said the wrong thing. When he looked up at the Commodore, he could see that the man was staring at him with unmasked disdain. "I know," he said, abjectly holding his hands up so that the Commodore could begin the process of locking him up, "Clap 'im in irons, right?"

James' mind was still tumbling over all the opposing feelings that Elizabeth's acceptance had unleashed. Needless to day, Jack's presence was doing nothing to help that confusion. If anything, it was probably making it worse. Before he could do anything, he had to get rid of the annoying pirate.

Still trying to look cool and collected despite his inner turmoil, he came down the steps and said, in his usual clipped, military accents, "Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with a bearing to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage, contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase, 'silent as the grave.'" James allowed the full significance of that statement sink in. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Inescapably clear." Said Jack, before he was unceremoniously grabbed by both arms and hustled up the stairs to the wheel.

When Jack was at last out of the way, Governor Swann came forward and asked, "Commodore, I must question the wisdom of this."

"With all due respect, Governor," said James, almost to sharply, "Mr. Turner is a subject of the British crown and therefore under my protection." He hardly knew what he saying, his mind was too wrapped up in trying to understand what he should do next.

Governor Swann only hesitated for a moment, before smiling and nodding, "Rightly so." He turned to Emma, then, as if to prompt her to congratulate Elizabeth, but the words died on his lips when he saw the expression on her face, "Emma, are you alright?"

Emma and Elizabeth looked at each other, and for the first time in her life, Elizabeth knew that her sister was blaming her. Finally, Emma said, "No, father, I am not alright. Pray excuse me." She pushed past her father to the cabin, and only Elizabeth could see that she was crying.

Governor Swann was about to go after her, but James stopped her, "It would be best to leave her be, Governor. The stresses of the voyage have been great and now much has happened to change that. It could have affected anyone of Emma's temperament. She will be all right in a few hours."

"If you say so, Commodore." Glancing at her, he decided that it would be best to leave them alone. "Take care of her."

Once they were alone, James looked at Elizabeth and saw that she was staring at her feet. She wouldn't bring her eyes up to meet those of her new fiancée. "Elizabeth." He said, softly, offering her his arm, which she took half-heartedly and hesitantly.

Leading her a few steps to the railing of the _Dauntless_, he felt decidedly awkward. He had to say something; he needed some answers to the questions which were tumbling through his mind. For the longest time, he had wondered if Elizabeth really did feel anything for him. Now, those doubts were speaking with voices so loud that he felt he couldn't easily hope to ignore them. And before either of them was condemned to a life from which they would be unable to escape, he had to know the truth. "Elizabeth," he began, at last, "I'm concerned that your answer was," he paused, and turned to face her, searching for the right words. "less than sincere."

Elizabeth felt herself exposed under James' expression. She felt like he could see everything that she was trying to hide, including the fact that she didn't love him. "I would not give my word lightly."

"Yes, I understand." Said James, still sounding very unsure, "But is it so wrong that I should want it unconditionally?"

"It is not a condition, it is a request." Said Elizabeth, knowing that she was giving away her future, but knowing that she had no choice, "You're answer would not change mine." It wasn't a lie, which made it, in come ways, far more painful. James still seemed doubtful, so she tried to smile. He was a good man, perhaps, in time, they could learn to be happy together. "You are a fine man, James."

He was unsure how he should respond to this. He knew she was telling him the truth, and yet, he also sensed she was doing so with a great deal of reluctance. "Well," he said, at last, because he knew not what else to say. "Very well." He turned to look at her one last time, and said, "Excellent." One of them, at least, had to show some excitement, and Elizabeth didn't seem to be able too.

The smile she gave him resembled the look of someone who had been forced to give up something dear to them, with no hope of getting it back. His heart hammered with unknown dread when he realized that he had seen that same look on Emma's face only magnified by ten. And from that moment, he began to doubt whether or not he was doing the right thing and the question of his true feelings for these two women would not cease to haunt him.

He should have been happy, he knew. But at the very moment when he had seemingly gained all that he had ever wanted, why did James Norrington feel that he had suddenly lost everything?

* * *

Press the little next button to go onto the next chapter, wherein Marie confronts Emma, and Emma reveals a painful secret.


	25. Chapter 25: Hidden Revelations

Chapter 26: Hidden Revelations

There was a decidedly nervous atmosphere onboard the _Dauntless_. The sailors had expected that they would be going back to Port Royal once they had found the Governor's youngest daughter. Instead, they found themselves setting sail in the opposite direction, to even great danger and a possibly grim fate.

For Marie, she was just glad that they were going to rescue Will, regardless of what the rest of the crew felt. However, she was rather disturbed by just how that decision had come about. She wasn't sure if Elizabeth had made the wisest choice in accepting James' proposal so rashly. She suspected that it would lead to trouble later on.

A few hours after they had got underway, she found Jack restlessly pacing the deck of the _Dauntless_. He acknowledged her presence with a slight nod, but beyond that, he did nothing. He seemed completely absorbed in something, though what it could be, Marie had no idea. "Trying to wear a hole in the deck, are we?" commented Marie, after watching him for a few seconds.

"Very funny." Muttered Jack. He suddenly stopped and, after looking up at the sails, looked at Marie. "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"That. We're going at a snail's pace. By the time we even get close to the Ilsa de Muerta Will be dead before we can do anything to help him."

"If I didn't know you any better," said Marie, "I'd say you were worried about him."

"Well, aren't you worried about him?"

"Of course, I am. But, what Jack, what exactly can we do? Tell the wind to speed up."

"No, but there are other things that can be done to make this behemoth go at least a little faster."

"Well, maybe if you talked with the good Commodore…"

"I can't talk to him. What makes you think he would even listen to me?"

"Well, with an attitude like that, he won't. But if you want results quickly, than you need to go straight to the top; that's what I've been told anyway. I've never had the opportunity to actually put it into practice myself. Try it, what have you got to lose, besides your pride?"

Jack was about to make a smart reply, when their conversation was brought to an abrupt end by the slamming of the cabin door. They both turned their heads to the stern end of the ship, only to see Elizabeth rushing away from the cabin and disappearing down the hatchway that led to below decks. And, Marie saw that she was crying.

"Oh no." she said, "I was afraid something like this would happen."

"What?" Asked Jack.

"Emma and Elizabeth had had a showdown." At Jack's confused stare, Marie explained further, "My guess is that they've had an argument about Elizabeth accepting the Commodore's proposal."

"And why should the elder Miss Swann take offense at the fact that her younger sister accepted said proposal, besides the fact that her younger sister is going to be married before herself?"

"For the simple reason that Emma is in love with James Norrington."

Jack stared at Marie, shocked, "In love? You mean to tell me that she is in love with old, stiff-backed Norrington? Is that even possible?"

"As hard as it may be for you to believe, Jack, Norrington is actually a real person underneath that chilly exterior. He's a good man and he and Emma are actually very good friends. She's been in love with him for a long time. She has never said anything directly to me, but it is rather obvious to see to one who knows her well."

"Wait a minute, Marie, I'm having a little trouble with this. You mean to tell me that Miss Emma Swann has been in love with that Norrington fellow for years and she hasn't even said a word to him about it?"

"That's right?"

"Why in the world would anyone put themselves through something like that? I will never understand you women."

"I hate to tell you this, but I sometimes don't understand them either, and I am one. Just imagine the confusion I live with every day. As for Emma, she is a…" she searched for the right word. "unique person. She has more regard for the comfort and feelings of others than I have ever seen her consider for herself. She is also shy. She doesn't like calling attention to herself."

"Ah, one of those humble, self-sacrificing types, is she?"

"Yes, in more ways than one. But this could very well have caused her to break. No one has that much self-control. Excuse me for a moment."

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to her. Where does it look like I'm going?"

"You really think talking will help?"

"Perhaps not, but Emma needs someone to talk to, and it clearly can't and won't be Elizabeth. At the very least, it will save me having to talk to you anymore than is necessary."

Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned and walked to the cabin. Once there, she raised her hand and knocked on the door of the main cabin. "Emma, Emma, it's me." No response. "Emma, I know you're in there." Still, silence. Marie sighed. She should have known this would be the reaction she would get. Emma would never be able to respond to her without saying something rude. So, she said nothing at all. Well, in that case, Marie would simply have to be rude herself. "I know you're in there, Emma, and I'm coming in right now, whether you want me too or not." Without waiting for an answer this time, Marie pushed into the door and walked into the cabin.

Emma was sitting by one of the windows that bordered the back of the ship, staring rigidly at the ocean beyond. She barely gave Marie a glance. No doubt, she didn't want her to see the fact that she was not only crushed, but also bitterly angry. "I really would prefer to be alone." She said, tight-lipped.

"Yes, I know you would, but you can't react to this by just sitting in here, by yourself, brooding. It won't change anything."

"I'm not brooding. What makes you think I'm brooding?"

"Oh, please, Emma, don't start. No one, not even you, could stand by and watch the man they love get engaged to their own sister. You must be feeling something and hiding is only going to make you more miserable."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Marie had expected this, but she refused to back down. She went over to Emma and sat down beside her. "Emma, don't push me away. Let me help you. You've got to open up to someone sooner or later, and since it can't be Elizabeth, it might as well be me."

Emma shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Marie, but I just can't control myself. I never dreamed that I could be so… I don't know."

"Brokenhearted?" tried Marie.

"Brokenhearted, angry, betrayed. I feel like I hardly know myself. I'm sure that Elizabeth doesn't know me either. The fight we just had…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Marie, I hope that you never have to experience something like that with Will. I don't know if things will ever be the same between the two of us."

"It probably won't be. But Emma, you cannot entirely blame Elizabeth, not for everything, at least. This was the only thing that she felt she could do."

"I could have changed his mind. Elizabeth spoke too soon. She shouldn't have gone this far."

"You might have been able to convince him but than again, maybe you wouldn't have, and then we would right back to where we started and Elizabeth would have had to go through with it anyway. I'm sure that she's taking it just as hard. She's going to have to live the rest of her life with a broken heart too, you know."

Emma made a visible effort to get control of herself, an attempt that was only half successful. She then got to her feet, and walked a little ways from the window. "Perhaps I am not half so angry with Elizabeth, as I am at myself. Perhaps, if I hadn't been so positive, so encouraging in my efforts then all this could have been avoided."

Marie wasn't quite sure what Emma was talking about. It sounded almost as though Emma were blaming herself for what was going on. "Emma, it isn't as though the Commodore has made his attraction to Elizabeth the past few months a secret, but surely, you could have had no control over it."

"You don't understand, Marie, I knew."

"What do you mean, 'you knew?'"

Emma seemed to have revealed more than she intended too. Nevertheless, she finally admitted, "I knew all along what he was trying to do. It wasn't just the hints he was dropping. I-I was actually helping him to court Elizabeth."

Marie's mouth hung open and she stared at Emma in complete shock. "Y-you were helping him to do this? You played a part in making yourself miserable? Emma, what could ever have possessed you to do something so… so idiotic?" she wasn't sorry for her strong language. In her mind, it was the only word that even came close to describing Emma's behavior.

"It's more complicated that you might thing, Marie. When James started coming to me for advice about courting Elizabeth, I couldn't turn him down. He was lost to me already, the least I could do for my own peace of mind was to help make him happy."

"But he can't marry Elizabeth. Surely you can see that they will never be happy together. They're complete opposites. If they get married, they will only be condemning themselves to a life of misery and unhappiness. Emma, you have to do something before we get back to Port Royal or all of you will end up with nothing to live for."

"I can't do anything anymore. And we mustn't jump so hastily to conclusions. There is a chance that with time, both of them could be happy with each other. Time heals all wounds, including broken hearts. It is already done, Marie, and there is nothing that can change it. Elizabeth will marry James, and I, I will learn to be happy for them."

Marie had never heard anything more preposterous in the whole of her life. Surely, Emma could not be serious. Marie certainly did not think she was. How could Emma believe anything of what she had just said when she was trembling with such strong emotion, now so poorly concealed? "Always with you it is the happiness of others before your own comfort, always it must be you who is last. Do you not have any wish of happiness yourself?" Going up to her, she put her hands on her shoulders, and forced Emma to look her in the eye. "Emma, where is your heart?"

Emma finally broke. A look of heartbroken rage rose in her eyes, and she shoved Marie away violently. "What do you know of my heart, Marie? For months this secret has been crushing me, and I did not have the liberty to tell it to a single creature. I couldn't tell you, I certainly couldn't tell Elizabeth, there was no one I could confide in, no one to whom I could tell that all my hopes had been destroyed." She sank into a nearby chair, choked sobs painfully punctuating her next speech, "Believe me, Marie, had I not been bound by secrecy, I could have produced proof enough of a broken heart, even for you."

Marie found that she couldn't speak for a moment. She had never seen Emma like this before. She was usually so careful in control of her emotions, that seeing her break down so completely was something that Marie had never experienced. And she suddenly began to realize just what Emma must have been going through the past few months: So humbly pointing the way for the man who she loved more than anything in the direction of her rival, who just happened to be her own sister. In many ways, Emma was sort of like a hero, but there is only so far that heroism can be taken. And Marie knew that in trying to be true to herself, Emma had inadvertently destroyed all hope she ever had of being truly happy.

"I am not the one who needs to see your heart, Emma. If only Norrington could see you now. That stone cold façade of his would melt away and he would come to realize just how much he could love you, if only because of how much you love him."

Emma raised her tear-stained face to Marie's, "Life isn't a fairy tale, Marie. Very rarely do we find happy endings waiting for us."

"You don't believe that, Emma." Said Marie, passionately, as she knelt beside Emma, desperate to make her understand what she was doing to herself. "I am the one who is supposed to be cynical and unromantic. You were not made for unhappiness, Emma. You still have time to change this. Show him, Emma. Show him what you're feeling. Don't you see? It's the only way that this can end happily, for anyone."

Emma opened her mouth for a moment, seeming about to say something, but then she closed her mouth and looked away. Her raw emotions were so tangled that she didn't have the strength or the courage to try and attempt what Marie was suggesting. "Marie, I can't." Marie was about to argue further, but Emma stopped her. "No, Marie. Please leave me. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Marie saw that further argument was pointless and to be perfectly frank, she was beginning to feel slightly impatient. Emma clearly, was not going to see the truth, and Marie did not know what else she could say that would be of further use. "Well, you had better get used to talking about it, Emma, because it will be spoken about incessantly when we get back to Port Royal." She rose to her feet and looked down at her friend, "For your sake, Emma, I hope that they both planning on a quick engagement."

With that, she turned and walked out of the cabin, closing the door none too gently behind her, leaving Emma alone and silent in her misery.

* * *

I sure hope everyone enjoyed this double helping of Pirates. These were actually pretty depressing chapters, but I happen to love writing stuff like this. I like making my characters suffer. But, don't worry. By the end of this little adventure, everything will work out, everyone will have their true love and heart's desire and everything will end happily. Not enough stories end happily, if you ask me. I am doing my own humble effort to change that. Okay, I have gone long enough about my personal beliefs. Please, read and review.

Next chapter: There are many sides to Jack Sparrow. In the next chapter, we will see some of those different sides, including some that we may never have thought about. He will be the one who givies life-changing advice to Emma, flirt with Marie and come to realize that his feelings for one of them, are starting to grow deeper than he ever thought possible. warning: is a very long chapter, and may take a few more days to be posted. Please be patient.


	26. Chapter 26: The Return

Okay, first of all, let me say that I am very sorry for updating sooner. My life has been crazy and hectic the past few weeks. To make up for it, here is a nice long chapter that showcases the many different sides of Jack Sparrow. Enjoy!

Chapter 27: Return to the Isla de Muerta

The sun soon set over the Caribbean, turning the water to an inky blanket, wave tips sprayed silver with the light on a full moon overhead. The great behemoth of the _Dauntless_was making its slow approach to the Ilsa de Muerta and for every sailor onboard her, that approach couldn't be slow enough. The very waters seemed to be whispering a song of death and curses.

Out of everyone onboard, Jack Sparrow was the only one who didn't seem to be in the least bit nervous, though he was decidedly on edge. He kept pacing back and forth the same length of the _Dauntless' _deck, stopping every few rotations and peering anxiously out into the night darkened waters. This was causing no small amount of headaches for the hapless Mourtogg and Mullroy, who had been given the rather dubious honor of guarding Jack until they returned to Port Royal. They were beginning to wish that they hadn't been "volunteered" by the god Commodore. They stayed a step behind him all the time, moving when he moved, and stopping when he stopped. The problem was that they never could predict when Jack would stop moving or resuming his pacing. Sometimes, it was only for a few seconds. Other times, his periods of stillness could last nearly five minutes, and then he would just suddenly start moving again without a moment's notice.

This had been going on for about two hours. At first, Jack had been getting a wicked delight oout of playing this little mind game with two mindless people. True, it wasn't the greatest thrill he had ever experienced, but as the Commodore had barred him from doing what he did best (giving orders, steering it on its course, just generally being a captain) he had to find some sort of amusement.

Now, however, he was beginning to find this as tedious as they were. Other things were now causing him to be restless. The closer they came to the Isla de Muerta, the closer he was to _Pearl_. He could feel it in his very bones how close they were. He hated this, being this close and still being so distant. The need to reclaim the _Black Pearl _as his own had become his most recent obsession. The fact that he might never get the chance made this whole thing worse. After all, the chance that the upright and law abiding Commodore Norrington might consider that he, as a pirate, belonged more behind bars, then on the deck of any ship. So far, Norrington had tolerated his presence on deck, but there was no telling how long that might last. Jack had already determined to himself that he would do whatever was necessary to get the _Pearl_ back, even if that meant jumping overboard and swimming for it.

There was also another reason why Jack was finding himself so restless. Marie. The aggravating feelings he was beginning to be aware of in her presence was beginning to tire him. Ever since they had left the island, there had been a definite shift in the interaction between them; an attraction that Jack, though he was loath to admit it, knew was there. Now, what he would actually do about it, he had no idea.

Anyway, the game of stop/go he had been playing with Mourtogg and Mullroy was eventually brought to an end (much to the unspoken relief of all participants), by the unexpected appearance of a Swann.

Mourtogg, who had begun to move after Sparrow on yet another mundane circuit, when he suddenly stopped and snapped to attention. "Miss Swann." He elbowed Mullroy, who had continued moving after Jack, and hadn't seen Emma. Mullroy promptly snapped to attention as well, but he did it so quickly that he dropped his bayonet, which he caught so fast it didn't have a chance to hit the deck.

Emma had to try hard to keep a straight face. The two guards looked so earnest that she hated the idea of laughing at them. "Good evening."

"Good evening, Miss Swann." Said Mourtogg, "What can we do for you?"

"Actually, I was hoping to speak with Captain Sparrow."

Jack, who had been looking out to sea, turned his head slightly at Emma at the sound of this proper title, that everyone else on this ship managed to instantly forget. He had no idea why a refined lady like the eldest Miss Swann would be seeking his attention. Well, he could think of one reason, but this lady hardly seemed like a woman who would want something like that.

"Well, uh, Miss Swann," said Mullroy, who seemed dumbfounded by the question and uncertain how to answer it. "You see, we've been assigned by a Commodore Norrington to guard this prisoner you see and…"

"And I'm sure you're doing it very well, but if you consider that there is really no place he could escape too, you must admit that there is a certain," she paused and seemed to searching for the right word, "futility in the action after a few hours, don't you think?"

"Are you saying that that the Commodore shouldn't have told us to guard him?" said Mullroy, who appeared more confused than ever.

"No," said Emma, with what struck Jack as almost saintly patience, "I'm just saying that he probably didn't consider the fact that this pirate probably isn't as much of a threat as he thinks. Therefore, the need to guard him is rather pointless at this moment in time, isn't it?"

"Well, what about you, Miss Swann?" said Mourtogg, "He might try to, well, you know…"

"Abduct me to gain his freedom?"

"Yes, exactly." Said Mourtogg, who seemed relieved that he didn't have to say it. "And if that were to happen, then Commodore Norrington would blame us and then…"

"Your concern for my safety very flattering, but he's unarmed and with dozens of others around us, I doubt that I would be captive for very long; If he were inclined in that direction," she shifted her eyes from the two of them to stare directly at Jack, and once more, Jack had the slightly disturbing feeling that she was reading him, "and I don't believe that he is.'

Mourtogg and Mullroy still looked undecided. "Look, you have been guarding all day without incident. You must be tired. Go below decks and rest. If any trouble should arise, I'll take the entirety of the blame."

"If you say so, Miss Swann." Said Mourtogg, and they both seemed very happy to have been relieved of mundane guard duty.

Once they were alone, Jack turned to face her fully. "They could be right, you know. How do you know I won't do something dastardly to you now that they've gone?"

Emma just continued to stare at Jack in that same unnerving way. "Don't ask me how I know, but I do know that you're not kind of man."

Jack cleared his throat, rather unsure what to say. He never would have admitted it openly, but she was right. "Do you do that to everyone?"

"Do what?"

"You know, stare at people in that way? As if you knew all their in most secrets."

"Oh, well, I've been able to do that since I was a child. I could look at someone and know if they were someone I could trust."

"Must come in handy every so often."

"It was useful when it came to you."

"I beg your pardon?"

"If I hadn't known that you meant my sister no harm when you first threatened her, I wouldn't have spoken up in your defense."

"And I thought I was such a mystery."

Emma smiled and even laughed. "It has been my experience, Captain Sparrow that no one is ever as mysterious as they would like to think they are."

"I see. And if I may ask you, why do I have the pleasure of the company of a refined lady like yourself? I thought that my repulsive behavior would have driven you away before now."

"But, you didn't, obviously, or I wouldn't be here. Besides, I don't think I ever thanked you properly for saving my sister. Whatever may have happened afterward, you did save her life."

"Nothin' personal, that; I was just lookin' out for my own neck. I hope there is no offence."

"You only acted as any would, in the same situation, I'm sure."

"Of course, I can throw her back if you want me too." Said Jack, after a moment of silence.

"What?" Emma said, surprised by his unexpected statement.

"I don't mean that in any bad way, of course, but if I could be of any help to you…"

Emma sighed and closed her eyes, unsure of she should be annoyed or amused. Coming up beside him, she leaned against the railing, looking out to sea. "Has Marie been talking about me behind my back?"

"Well, yes. I guess you could say that."

"It's not enough that I'm suffering in myself, must the entire Caribbean be aware of the details as well."

"Beg pardon, Miss Swann, but one person is hardly the entire Caribbean."

"Yes, but to a practical stranger."

"It's hardly conventional, I know, but you also must admit that Marie is hardly conventional. Besides, she is only tryin' to help."

"You're right, I suppose." Said Emma, with a soft sigh, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. My nerves have been fraying more then usual lately."

"With good reason. Accordin' to what Marie's been tellin' me, you're a very private sort of person."

Emma smiled with grim humor. "I daresay she has no idea how I can be so restrained. But, then that is partly the fact that Marie has always been more outspoken in her opinions that Elizabeth has been. And given what you know of Elizabeth that should give you some idea of Marie."

"Oh, I think I already have a pretty good idea about Marie, already." Said Jack, with a rueful grin. A moment of silence passed between them, then Jack suddenly asked, "May I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Have you ever considered yourself to be a good liar?"

Emma looked at Jack, her brows furrowed in confusion at the completely unexpected question. "That is a rather odd question to ask."

"I'm full of those moments and don't try to avoid the question."

Emma, despite herself, felt intrigued. She was curious to see where this conversation would lead (a curiosity that no doubt would have appalled her father). "I have always tried to tell the truth. And for the most part I have never gone back on it. I have never really had anything to lie about. In comparison with you, I have led a rather boring life. And that is what I prefer. However, there have been maybe two or three times in my life when I did, well, stretch the truth a little. I always hated doing it, even if I was not caught."

"So, you never thought you were good at it?"

"Well, considering the fact that I always ended up telling the truth anyway, no I can't say that I was."

"Well, something significant must have changed in your personality because you've done a pretty good job of keepin' up a charade for the last six months without anyone guessin' you might have had somethin' to hide."

"What are you talking about?"

"Something else Marie told me. She said you've been advocatin' for Commodore Norrington in his pursuit of Elizabeth. Is that true?"

Emma's entire face changed when Jack spoke these words. Walls instantly sprang up and it was she who was this time avoiding his penetrating gaze. "I suppose it is, in a manner of speaking. I don't see why it should draw any criticism. It's not as though giving advice to a good man who wants to marry my sister should be a crime."

"Yes, if you call ball-faced lying advice."

She turned her face to him, her eyes flinty. "I resent that remark."

"Why should you?" Emma turned away, "Do you not have any good answer to that."

"No, it's not that. I just don't like the implication that seems to be coming from everyone that I'm signing my sister and Ja… Commodore Norrington to a lifetime of misery."

"You're not doin' that. You're doin' somethin' much worse. You're condemning yourself."

Emma looked closely at Jack Sparrow. "What are you trying to tell me, Jack Sparrow?"

"I'll put this as plainly as I can. You worry too much about others, Miss Swann. I don't necessarily condemn that. I don't practice it myself and I don't know how anyone could do what you do, but I can respect it, in certain circumstances. Humility, however, in your case, has gone too far. You've forgotten the duty when you also owe to yourself. And because of that, you've condemned yourself. I'm goin' to ask you another question, and this time I want you to answer only when you're certain the answer will be a truthful one. Knowin' both the Commodore and Elizabeth as well as you do, is there any real chance on this earth that they would ever be happy together?"

Emma opened her mouth, to say at once what she had been telling herself for the past six months (that, yes, of course there was a chance for both of them as the years went by), but Jack stopped her. "Remember, I asked for a truly honest answer."

Emma found that she could not bring herself to deny Jack. There was something in his earnest expression that forced her to look deeper. She had been excusing her doubts for so long that it had become second nature to ignore them. But when she looked beyond her excuse, she knew that there was no other truth but the fact that neither Elizabeth nor James would ever be happy together. And she had known it from the start. Her rational side, the side of herself she had always tried to follow had told her that there was no chance. But why hadn't she listened?

No sooner had she asked to question, than the answer came. She had done it because she hadn't been able to say no to James. Her love for him had blinded her to what she knew to be true. She had promised to help him, despite her better judgment, and when she made a promise to someone, she tried to keep it to the best of her ability. If she did anything less, the guilt and shame she felt only caused her to try harder. It had been so in this case. Whenever she had brought herself to even hint that Elizabeth might not be interested in him, James' crushed reaction and goaded her into trying even harder.

At last, despite the fact that it was painful for her to finally admit the truth she had been denying for so long, she said, "No, no there isn't."

"Than why have you been lying to so many people for something that could never happen?"

Emma suddenly understood just what Jack had been trying to tell her. She had lied, lied to herself enough to herself that it had become a habit, a habit that had caused her to willfully become blinded to the truth. Once she had started lying to herself, it had begun a vicious cycle. She had told James that there was a chance for him and Elizabeth, she had encouraged him, turning even the most neutral thing Elizabeth said to him and twisting it to his favor. Then she had turned right around and told Elizabeth that James' interest in her would surely not last long. She told them both lies, monstrous lies to give them hope for completely opposite things. And now, she saw the true fruits of her labor, fruits that were utterly sour and bitter and which Elizabeth and James would have to taste every day for the rest of their lives.

She had no one to blame for this castrophe but herself. She, who had always prided herself on clear and rational thinking, had ruined the lives of those she loved most in the world, when she had only ever wanted the best for them. In that moment, Emma Swann could honestly say that she had never known herself, and she felt completely lost.

"What have I done?" she questioned herself, seeming to have forgotten that Jack was standing right beside her. And she was about to find that perhaps the least likely one to be able to offer any kind of advice, would be the one to offer her the wisest guidance, guidance that she now so desperately needed.

"You made man bad decisions," he said, "but it's hardly confined to you. A lot of others have made many worse mistakes than you have. But there is still time for you, Miss Swann."

"How can that be true? You were there yourself; the engagement between them is set. What can I possibly do that would stop it?"

"Ay, they're engaged, but they're not actually married yet. And bein' engaged is a long way from getttin' married in my experience."

"What do you mean, Jack?"

"How much do you love Commodore Norrington? Could you love him enough to hurt him?"

"What?"

"Supposing you were to tell him the truth about Elizabeth? What would his reaction be?"

"He would be devastated. I couldn't-"

"Oh, yes you could." Said Jack, cutting her off, "Sometimes, the best things we can do for the ones we love is to hurt them. It's for his own good. You said yourself that the two of them could never be happy together. I see your strength, Miss Swann, and something tells me you've got it in you to do this. If you love him enough to lie to him, then you've got to love him enough to hurt him. You've got to tell him the truth, Emma. It's the only way."

Emma stared at Jack for a moment. The simple wisdom in Jack's words had somehow managed to make her see the folly of her ways, and it had pained her to see the truth, she was still indebted to him. She even managed to smile at him. "May I ask you a question, Captain?"

"That depends on the question and the answer I can give."

"Why do you try to hide who you are? You're really very kind."

"Ah, yes, well." Said Jack, who was actually embarrassed by her frank praise, which he honestly wasn't sure he deserved. He could see that she meant it, though, so he might as well accept it. He was not one to turn down complaments "I surprise even myself sometimes."

Emma actually laughed softly, before saying, "Well, thank you for your time, Captain Sparrow. You have given me a lot to think about."

"Pleasure's mine, Miss Swann. Not as though I don't have the time to spare."

"Emma, please." She said, quietly. "Good night, Captain."

She walked past him, but Jack stopped her, "What are you going to do, Emma?"

Emma stopped and turned her head slightly. "What am I going to do tomorrow? I don't know. But for tonight, I know what needs to be done."

With that last enigmatic statement, Emma Swann left him alone, or so he thought. "You had better not be planning anything."

Jack, startled, whirled around, only to see Marie a few feet away. "Oh, I'm sorry." Said Marie, in a tone that made it clear she wasn't sorry at all. "Did I take you by surprise?"

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, Marie. You scared me half to death."

Marie laughed and shook her head. "Don't worry, Jack. I am sure that you got plenty of years left in you."

"Yes, but I would like to be able to see next year, thank you." Said Jack, deciding to temporarily ignore the fact that he probably wouldn't be seeing next month, much less next year if the Royal Navy had their full say in the matter.

"Don't try and get off the subject, Jack."

"As I recall, this conversation didn't have a subject to begin with."

"I was just warning you against have any ideas about Emma. She is very special to me and I would hate to see her get involved with someone like you."

"Your concern does you credit. However, I must inform you, luv, she came to me. And besides, I wouldn't be good enough for her."

"You mean she's not bad enough for you."

Jack, who had been looking out to the sea, now turned and stared at Marie, "I beg your pardon?"

Marie had with a knowing glint in her eyes, and she was smiling, a look that suggested that she was imagining many hidden possibilities behind her emerald green eyes.

"I know you, Jack. A woman would have to possess a certain quality to make her truly desirable to you. And Emma really doesn't have it."

"You've only known me for a short time, Marie. How do you know what kind of woman I would find, to use your words, truly desirable?"

"Like I said, Jack," said Marie, "I know you."

Jack realized with a start that she was flirting with him. That was certainly a surprise; he had never imagined that she would be interested in that sort of thing. But apparently he had been wrong on that score, for she was not only flirting, she seemed rather good at it. His curiosity was peaked. He wondered how far he could push this without getting his head bitten off. Considering who Marie was, he was willing to run that risk.

"You're probably right on that score, Marie." He said, his voice taking on that seductive edge which had caused any number of women to melt. Marie, of course, didn't melt, but he actually would have been disappointed if she had. This would be a time when the pursuit was almost as fun as the actual catch.

"And while we are on the subject of knowing what the other wants, let's have a go on you, shall we?" he had begun circling her, his eyes raking her body freely, and while he was doing so, he began to wonder how he could ever called Marie pretty. She was more than pretty, she was downright beautiful. Indeed, perhaps one of the most physically attractive women he had ever encountered. He was normally a good judge of female beauty; he wondered why he had not noticed this before.

Marie was perfectly aware of what Jack was doing. And she actually found that she was enjoying it. That rush of heat and exhilaration she felt under Jack's gaze was both frightening and exciting all at the same time. She had never experienced such feelings before. However, if Jack thought that he was going to win this little game, he was sorely mistaken. She was fully prepared to lead him on for as long as saw fit, but she would be firmly in control the whole time.

"What could you possibly know about me?"

"You seem to know what I want after such a short acquaintance, Marie. And I believe that I have learned a thing or two about you as well." He was whispering softly in her ear and she knew that if she were to turn her head now, she would be only a few inches from kissing him. "I know what you want."

"All right, than, Captain Jack Sparrow," she said, turning to face him. The thought of kissing Jack made her slightly breathless with excitement, but she was not about to surrender. "just what is it that I want?"

"I know," said Jack, "that for all you pretensions, you want to know what its like."

"I know what what's like?"

Jack laughed and began advancing on Marie, more seductive than before. "You know, Marie, sometimes I wonder if I truly do have to spell everything out for you. You want to know what it's like to be kissed, caressed and held by a man who knows what it is that a woman wants."

He had backed her up against the railing of the _Dauntless_, the warmth of his body causing her heart to begin hammering. Nevertheless, she was still somehow managed to hide the effect that he was having upon her, but it was becoming more difficult to resist. "And are you suggesting that you happen to know someone like that?"

The tone of her voice was meant to trick Jack into thinking that he had won out, and to tell the truth, it was not entirely a deception on her part. He leaned forward, the distance between them now almost nothing. "Yes, perhaps I do, one who would really enjoy showing you."

"In that case, I should dearly like to meet him." Just when Jack thought he had triumphed, just when he was about to brush his lips against hers, she unexpectedly stepped to one side, out of his range. "And if you should ever happen to find him, Jack, I do hope that you will introduce me."

With that, she sidled away, leaving Jack stunned and speechless. He almost couldn't believe what had just happened. She had resisted him. How many times had that happened? Once? Twice? Certainly no more than three, and never had it been done with such artful dexterity. She had led him right up to the point where he had though that he had actually won. Never had he suspected her true intentions.

Marie seemed to be the picture of nonchalant confidence, as though the preceding few minutes had not affected her in the slightest. But, in actuality, her heart was racing, her blood felt heated. Her mind was awhirl with too many different thoughts to count. Not only had she flirted with Jack, she had pushed the boundaries dangerously close. She could very well have given in if it gone any further.

There was silence between them for a few minutes, each trying to get their separate heart rates under control. Finally, Jack went over to stand beside her. Marie noticed that he didn't seem to be planning on continuing the seduction, a fact which she didn't know whether to be disappointed or relieved at. "You know, Marie, you are really quite a puzzle to me."

'I can't see why." Said Marie, "There's not much about me that I hide."

"Oh, I don't know, there seems to be quite a lot. You can be kind when you want to be, generous, brave. But, there's something else about you that I cannot quite describe; a sort of vulnerability that is, well, enduring, in its own way."

Marie glanced at Jack and grinned a little. "That might be the closet thing to a genuine compliment you have ever given me, Jack. You had better be careful, you're sounding almost sentimental. I am rather surprised that you of all people should even notice something like that about me."

"Hey, I can be a gentleman when I need to be. Should it surprise you that I see something like that in you?"

Marie laughed dryly. "I suppose you might be curious why someone like me has never been married. Most women my age are. I did have suitors, once. One of them even attempted to serenade me."

That caused Jack to chuckle. "I would have liked to have seen that."

"He said that my skin was the color of the moon, my hair was like the blackest, softest silk and my grace and modesty were beyond compare. He was a horrible poet and an even worse singer. After several nights of trying to tell, both polity and rudely to leave me alone, I finally threw a stew pot at him. Knocked him out cold. He never came back."

"You seem rather proud of that."

"I was actually. The problem with all these men, though, was the same thing: they praised me for qualities I did not have. I pretty, that was enough for them. They saw what they wanted to see me as, not for who I was, and after they got a taste of my personality, they stopped coming. I haven't had one for nearly two years, which is a relief."

"So, have you never wanted to get married?"

"To be quite honest, no. I mean, I am not against the institution, by any means. If two people love each other, they should get married. I suppose, if the right person came along, I wouldn't be averse to it. The problem is I have never even come close to finding anyone who was not more of an idiot than a man."

"I'm sorry to hear that the search hasn't gone well."

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just not meant to be with anyone. Maybe, he doesn't even exist."

Before Jack could respond, the _Dauntless _trembled and shuddered. It was so unexpected that Marie stumbled and would have fallen to the deck, had not Jack mage to catch her and hold her steady.

The _Dauntless _had entered the graveyard of ships which surrounded the Isla de Muerta. But neither Jack nor Marie seemed aware of this at first. Jack, even after the _Dauntless_ had steadied itself, found that he was loath to let Marie go. He still held her tightly in his arms, their faces only inches apart. It was different even from the smoldering flames of their earlier encounter. Something far more powerful, far deeper transcended their strongest barriers and spoke straight to their hearts. They were locked together for a moment. It seemed as if words should have been spoken, but what exactly those words were and how they were to be spoken was a challenge that neither felt they were strong enough to meet.

Finally, Jack gently let go of Marie. He suddenly found that he didn't want to try and seduce her to the point of surrender as he might have considered doing in the past. She deserved so much better. "You'll find him one day, Marie, I know it." He said, "And whoever he may be, he will be a very lucky man."

Marie, who felt slightly cold after Jack let her go, wasn't sure for a moment if he wasn't making another joke, but he seemed perfectly serious. He was also speaking to her as he never had done before, not as a woman, but as an equal. And to Marie, somehow, that subtle change made all the difference in the world. "Thank you, Jack." For now, that was all that needed to be said.

* * *

Like I said, I hope that everyone enjoyed that. A whole chapter with Jack can't be wrong. Hopefully, the next few chapters won't be so long in updating. We are speeding towards the climax now, and I can promise that the next few chapters will be explosive. And perhaps now the ultimate question might be considered, sequal? Stay tuned to the next few chapters and find out.

Next chapter: Plans of action are all well and good up to a point, but what happens when those plans of actions encounter unforeseen obstacles? Simple, you trust to luck and wait for the opportune moment. The final conflict is about to begin.


	27. Chapter 27: Plans of Actions

Hey there, everyone. Here are two new chapters for Pirates of the Caribbean. Things are really starting to move fast, so be sure and hold on for the ride. Enjoy!

By the way, there is a quote in this chapter that is from the brilliant, brilliant playwright William Shakespeare's Julius Ceaser. I count myself to be a pretty fair writer, but not even I could even hope to reach the genius of Shakespeare. Okay, enough of my raptures. Here's the chapter.

Chapter 28: Plan of Action

Time was a forgotten concept when one entered the outer circle of the wrecked ships that encircled the Isla de Muerta. For what seemed like a lifetime, but was perhaps only an hour at most, the _Dauntless_ slipped through the honeycomb of broken bows, masts and keels. Marie and Jack didn't speak to each other once they entered this graveyard; they just stared out silently put into the grim view before them, lost in separate contemplations. They had both been here a little less than three days ago, and yet it seemed as though an eternity had passed. Before, they had come as somewhat reluctant allies, who could have turned on each other in the blink of an eye, and had actually. Now, they were something much more. What, they may not have wanted to say, but they were stronger because of it. Their chances now seemed better now that they were working as a team.

They were soon joined by Elizabeth, who had somehow managed to shed her sand encrusted shift for the infinitely more comfortable clothes of a sailor. She walked past them a little ways, seeming to be as lost in though as they were. But in all honesty, something was bothering her and it had been bothering for quite some time. It was more than the fact that she had broken Emma's heart, although that was certainly had a great deal to do with it. No, there was another thing that was weighing on her conscience and it was refusing to go away.

"You didn't tell him about the curse." She said, at last, not looking at either of them.

"I notice neither did you." Jack pointed out, "For the same reason, I imagine."

He didn't need to elaborate further, she knew what he meant. She had perhaps been hoping that Jack would feel the blame more then she did, but it just couldn't be. In not telling Commodore Norrington (her fiancée, she now realized painfully), she had possibly condemned every sailor on the _Dauntless,_ not to mention her own family, to a gruesome death. Of course, there was a chance that they would rescue Will, but there was also an equal, if not slightly bigger chance that they wouldn't. And what would happen then, didn't bear thinking about.

But what else could she have done? She knew that if she had spoken the truth, then not even James would have risked his crew to attempt the rescue. "He wouldn't have risked it." She said, knowingly.

"Could have gotten him drunk." Quipped Jack. Elizabeth looked up at him. "Don't get me wrong, luv. I admire a person who's willing to do whatever's necessary."

Elizabeth wasn't sure how to take this. Did that mean that he admired her? Or it could mean something entirely different. With Jack, one could never tell. "You're a smart man, Jack." She told him, "But I don't entirely trust you."

Jack moved toward her, his eyes never leaving her face. Moving his finger in between them, he said, "Peas in a pod, darling."

Elizabeth looked long and hard at Jack, but she suddenly looked away, blushing in embarrassment. Jack turned around in confusion, only to be confronted by Commodore Norrington's dangerously glowering face. Quickly he backed up a safe distance from Elizabeth, his face beaming pure innocence, in case Norrington chose to read anything deeper into the encounter.

Wisely, however, Norrington decided that it would be best not to inquire here and now why Jack had literally been face to face with his future bride. That was a conversation for another time. He tossed Jack's compass back into his hands, before saying in a clipped tone. "With me, Sparrow."

It was the sign that all three had been waiting for, in their different ways. In some or another, all of their actions over this whole adventure had led them to this moment in time. What happened tonight, would affect them for the rest of their lives.

As Jack moved off with Norrington, Marie began following them. "Miss Turner, I must ask you to stay here."

"And I'm afraid I'll have to say no to that." Said Marie.

"I didn't mean for you to take it as a request, Miss Turner. I don't have to remind you that you could very well be in danger, not to mention that you are already under suspicion of piracy."

"No, actually you don't have to remind me of any of that. But I'm going with you, whether you want me to or not. My brother is out there, and I'm not about to abandon him when he needs help the most."

Norrington sighed and closed his eyes. If he managed to get back to Port Royal with his sanity in tact, he should be in line for a promotion for putting up with all these women who seemed so easily able to break down his arguments without the slightest effort. However, while he may have been able to stand up to Miss Turner's boisterous temper under ordinary circumstances, time was not his friend in this instance. He had to get this mission underway before he succeeded in talking himself out of it. "All right, Miss Turner. Come with us."

Marie looked once more back at Elizabeth. "Good luck." She mouthed.

"You, too." Mouthed Elizabeth. They both knew that before the night was over, they would be needing it.

* * *

Five longboats filled with red coated members of the Royal Navy rode the rocking waves which bounced off the grim rocks around the Isla de Muerta. Nobody dared say a word for fear they might alert some long dead spirit. A foolish thought, perhaps, under ordinary circumstances, but than, considering the hardly unordinary state of affairs, it is perhaps not hard to blame them.

The only ones who seemed unfazed by the spooky surroundings were Jack, Marie and Commodore Norrington, who was viewing the seemingly empty deck _Black Pearl_ through his spyglass. There didn't seem to anyone aboard her, and that very fact made him nervous.

"I don't care for the situation." He said, as he lowered the spyglass, "Any attempt to storm the caves could turn to an ambush."

"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing." Said Jack, whose opinion hadn't actually been asked for, but he suspected (rather rightly) the Commodore hadn't asked him along to merely sit on his hands to keep quiet. "I go in and convince Barbossa to row his men out with their little boats. You and you're mates return to the _Dauntless_ and blast the bejesus out of them with your little cannons, eh?" he had leaned secretively into Commodore Norrington as he said this, had even put a comradely hand on his shoulder, "What have you got to lose?"

"Nothing I'd lament being rid of." Stated Norrington, making no attempt to hide his disgust as he unceremoniously pushed Jack's hand off his body with the spyglass.

Jack, only momentarily abashed, quickly came up with another tactic. "Now, to be quite honest with you, there is still a slight risk to those aboard the _Dauntless_ which includes the future Mrs. Commodore."

* * *

Aboard the _Dauntless_, things were far from peaceful. Two Marines had a struggling Elizabeth pinioned between them. They had more or less snuck up on her blindside and she had been unable to escape them. "Sorry, but it's for your own safety." Gillette, James' second-in-command, who was following behind the two Marines.

"I don't care what the Commodore ordered, I have to tell him." shouted Elizabeth, "The pirates, they're cursed, they can't be killed."

The guards shoved Elizabeth in the main cabin. Gillette, right before he closed the doors on her, said, "Don't worry, Miss, he's already informed of that. A little mermaid flopped up on deck and told him the whole story." Smirking in such a way that made Elizabeth want to smack him, he shout the doors, locking Elizabeth inside.

Such a disturbance as this, of course, could hardly be missed by anyone onboard. But while most might have just looked the other way and not interfered, Emma, for one, could not.

"Lieutenant," she said, approaching Gillette, who was still chuckling over his stale mermaid joke, "considering that my sister hasn't done anything wrong, don't you think your methods are frankly harsh."

"It was the Commodore's orders." Said Gillette, as id that made the whole thing all right.

"Do you think the Commodore's orders meant man-handling my sister as if she were a criminal?"

"Oh, please, Miss Swann, you've got to stop fretting and worrying over your sister like a mother hen. It might be good for Elizabeth to be locked up somewhere for awhile. She is far too independent for her own good. She needs to start behaving more properly, or she'll get into trouble one of these days."

Emma stared Gillette, completely appalled by what she was hearing. She had never liked Gillette, for all that he was James' second-in-command. He had always struck her as being too self-important, flaunting his rank over others as if he thought he had more power than he actually possessed. But this latest tirade against her sister, inappropriate as it was chauvinistic, drove her even deeper into her dislike for him. "Whether or not that is true, and you have no right to say such things in the first place, it does not give you the right to treat her in the manner that you did. When Commodore Norrington returns, I will see to it that he knows of this incident, and then we will see of he shared your opinion on this subject, which I highly doubt he will."

Gillette just laughed, as though he considered Emma no very big threat. "May I be dismissed, My Lady?" he asked, somewhat mockingly.

"Yes, and please don't call me 'My Lady.'"

Emma watched Gillette as he sauntered away. She grimaced instinctively. She could not help but recall Shakespeare's line from _Julius Caesar_: "Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; / He thinks too much: such men are dangerous." She didn't know how much that might have applied to Gillette, but some inner sense told her that he was a man who would prove to be untrustworthy in the future.

But she could not consider that now. She had something bigger to accomplish this night. She had already managed to have one of the longboats dropped in the right place for a person to board from the main cabin, should the need arise, and Emma was planning on doing just that. If she had anything to say about it, Elizabeth would not be staying on the _Dauntless_ for long.

* * *

The full moon had disappeared behind thick clouds, but its glowing light was still bright enough for Jack to row his way into the yawning cavern in the cliff face of the Isla de Muerta. Marie had refused once more to be left behind when he brother was in danger, and had insisted that she be allowed to go with Jack. Besides, she wanted to keep on eye on Jack, and wherever there was even the smell of danger, that was where she wanted to be. It was inevitable that she would be in the thick of it.

She looked at Jack, who seemed unusually at ease. He was even smirking a little. "You look awfully confident for someone who could very well be rowing to his death."

"Was that supposed to mean anything?" Inquired Jack, still unconcerned.

"Well, it's not exactly a very welcoming crowd that we are sailing into, is it?"

"And I thought that you would have known me better than that."

"What you're telling me that you actually have a plan?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Do you plan to tell me what it is?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it all depends on deception. I'm going to need you reactions to be natural."

"That's comforting." Muttered Marie.

"Now, Marie, I'm going to need you to trust me on this. If I wanted to deceive you, I wouldn't have even told you that I had a plan."

Marie shook her head and felt herself smiling, despite her exasperation with Jack at the moment. "Jack, you are utterly annoying."

"I know, luv, that's what makes me so charming. So, are you with me?"

"Despite my better judgment, Jack, I suppose I am."

"Great. Now, just let me do the talking and remember, wait for the opportune moment."


	28. Chapter 28: Plans in Action

Chapter 26: Plans in Action

The caves of the Isla de Muerta were once more resounding with the blood-chilling chanting of the cursed of Barbossa's crew. Barbossa had foregone the speech this time, partly because he was too impatient to wait any longer, and because there was really no need to whip up his crew into a frenzy, since they had more or less taken care of that part themselves this time around.

The young William Turner's hands were bound behind his back, and two of the crew were forcing him to bend over the chest of cursed treasure. The stone knife was clutched in Barbossa's hand, ready to cut the boy's throat and spill every last drop of Turner blood over the gold coins. There would be no mistakes this time. Barbossa could almost taste the sweet taste of revenge, not to mention the green apples which had been so long denied to him.

When he sensed the moment was right, he began to speak, "Begun by blood," but just as he was ready to break the curse, he heard another sound above the chanting, a voice that was distinctly and unpleasantly familiar.

"Excuse me, pardon me."

It couldn't be. No, there was no way that he could have escaped again; it must just have been his imagination. But, no there it was again, the voice of the enemy that he thought he had disposed of once and for all. "By blood, un…"

And there was Jack Sparrow in the flesh, pushing and shoving his way through the crew members. Were it not for the fact that the chanting fizzled out and the crew stared in slack-jawed amazement at Jack, Barbossa could have sworn he had merely seen a ghost (perhaps he would have preferred a ghost). And right behind Jack was the sister of the very man he was trying to kill.

Will was the first to recover from the shock of seeing the unlikely intruders. "Jack, Marie."

Barbossa was almost speechless. "It's not possible."

"Not probable." Jack corrected, as he began to approach the pile of treasure atop which Barbossa was standing. He didn't get too far because the burly African B'son pulled him back with an iron grip on his shoulder. Marie also her forward progress hampered by like restraint from another member of Barbossa's crew.

"Where's Elizabeth?" asked Will.

"She's safe, just like I promised," Said Jack, in mock exasperation, "so is Marie, which I also promised. Elizabeth is all set to marry Norrington just like she promised, and you get to die for her just like you promised. So we are all men of our word, really." Jack stopped, and then amended quickly, "Except for Elizabeth, who is in fact a woman." Marie cleared her throat. Jack cast her glance, before finally adding, "And Marie, of course, who, as far as I know, hasn't promised anything to anyone."

Barbossa, who was never one to be left speechless for very long, "Shut up! You're next."

The B'son took an even firmer grip on Jack's shoulder, as Barbossa put the blade to Will's throat. "You don't want to be doin' that, mate." Cautioned Jack.

Barbossa looked at Jack with evil eyes. "No, I really think I do."

Jack shrugged nonchalantly. "It's your funeral."

Barbossa felt like screaming. That knowing tone which made it clear that Jack knew something that would ultimately be of use grated on his nerves. It would be foolhardy to ignore Jack when he talked like that. He turned to Jack and said, with barely restrained anger, "Why don't I want to be doin' it?"

"Well, because…" Jack started, then stopped, stared at the B'son's hand which was still planted on his shoulder, and unceremoniously slapped it away. He continued from where he had left off, climbing up to the mound of the treasure as he spoke, "Because the _HMS Dauntless_, pride of the Royal Navy is floating just off-shore, waiting for you."

Mutterings and murmurings greeted this statement. But Barbossa could tell that Jack was, for once, telling the truth. Just as it would be foolish to ignore Jack when he claimed to know something, it would be foolish to ignore him when he was speaking the truth. The only wise course left to Barbossa would be too hear Jack out.

* * *

Onboard the _Dauntless_, Elizabeth was pacing the deck of the main cabin, trying madly to come up with some sort of plan that would enable her to escape the confines of the ship. She didn't know how far she could trust Jack to do his part. She also knew that Norrington was not one to take unnecessary risks. She didn't know what she could to change the situation, but she wasn't about to stand by and do nothing either.

Suddenly the silence of her thoughts was interrupted when the door to the cabin opened and in came Emma. "Emma." Said Elizabeth, in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Shh." Said Emma, silencing her and gesturing to the still open door and the still present guard beyond it.

Elizabeth instantly realized what Emma was trying to say and wisely chose to keep silent. Once the door was shut, and Emma was certain they were not in danger of being overheard, she said, "We have very little time, Elizabeth. Listen to me. I've managed to convince one of the sailors to lower the lifeboat on this side of the cabin. All we have to do is think of a way to get you off this ship."

"Emma, what are you saying? If father finds out you've helped me-"

"He won't. and even he does, it won't matter because you'll be gone and he will be unable to stop you. Whatever harsh words he may have for me will be inconsequential."

Elizabeth was still mystified as to why her sister was helping her like this. "Why do you want to help me? The last time we spoke, you said that you regretted ever allowing yourself to get close to me. if you had never told me anything, then this whole thing would have been easier for you, you wouldn't have felt my betrayal so much."

Emma paused, before going over and putting her hands o Elizabeth's shoulders. "It was very wrong of me to say such things, Elizabeth and I'm sorry. However, I've allowed myself some to think and I've realized that what you have done is the only thing you could have done under the circumstances. I probably would have done the same thing. Besides, I told you once that you would never be my enemy. Even now, I can't bring myself to call you one."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Elizabeth found herself smiling and she took one of Elizabeth's hands and squeezed it tightly. "Thank you, Emma."

Emma also smiled, relieved, for now at least, that they could put their differences behind them. "Now, there isn't much time. We have to find a way to get off this ship."

Elizabeth only had to look around her, before she spied something that would fit their needs precisely. "The bed sheets." She cried, as she hurried over to the bed and began tearing off the sheets and coverlets. "Help me, Emma. If we tie these together, we should be able to make a rope long enough to climb out of the window."

The minutes passed, as the two sisters worked as hurriedly and as quietly as they could to lace the sheets together into a rope. They worked in silence, for they had said all they could say at the time. They were merely focused now on achieving the same goal.

Their work was suddenly interrupted by a soft knock at the cabin door and their father's soft voice. "Elizabeth, I just wanted to tell you how very glad I am about the decision you made. I couldn't be more proud of you. But, you know, even a decision, even if made for the right reasons, can be a wrong decision."

Emma and Elizabeth looked at each other, then resumed their work, neither of them answering the Governor, even though he kept on talking.

It was not long before the makeshift rope was completed. "It's long enough." Said Emma, as she dangled it out the window. "You shouldn't have any trouble reaching the lifeboat." She turned back to her sister. "Do be careful, Elizabeth, whatever it is you have in mind."

"I'll try, Emma. Thank you again."

"God speed, Elizabeth." Said Emma, as Elizabeth slipped out of the window and began to climb down the rope.

Not a moment before Elizabeth had disappeared out the window, Emma heard her father beyond the cabin doors, "Elizabeth, are you there? Elizabeth, are you even listening to me?"

She heard the doorknob turning. She knew that she wouldn't be able to come up with an excuse for Elizabeth's absence. Not that she had really planned on excusing it in the first place.

* * *

In the cave, Jack was in the process of wheedling and negotiating his way into Barbossa's good graces. "Just hear me out, mate. You order your men to row out to the _Dauntless_, they do what they best." The pirates snickered in evil glee, anticipating being able to practice their favorite hobby. "Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, (AN This is probably one of the most cryptic messages in the whole of the Pirates trilogy. I have no idea what the heck it's supposed to mean) there you are with two ships, the makings of your very own fleet."

Marie had to admit that she really admired the way Jack was going about this. His way with words was as eloquent as any man who spent his life studying the intricacies of language. In fact, Marie doubted that anyone else would have been able to top Jack at this moment, because he was doing the impossible, convincing his greatest enemy that he would be his truest ally.

"Of course, you'll take the grandest as your flagship, and who's to argue, but what of the _Pearl_? Name me Captain, I'll sail under your colors, I'll give you ten percent of me plunder, and you get to introduce yourself as _Commodore _Barbossa, savvy?"

He was playing his part well, maybe a little to well. Marie was almost beginning to wonder whose side Jack was truly on. She kept waiting for him to do something, to give some sort of sign. She was growing more and more nervous with each passing moment. However, she wouldn't have to wait much longer.

"I suppose, in exchange, you want me not to kill the whelp?" snapped Barbossa, harshly, casting a contemptuous glance at Will.

"No, not at all, by all means, kill the whelp." Said Jack, dismissively, as though that particular matter were of no consequence to him. "Just not yet." He, then, did a rather strange thing, while still maintaining that he was dealing with Barbossa, he looked Will straight in the eye and said, "Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment."

Will had been listening to this exchange, unsure how he was to take it. But, when Jack looked at him, he suddenly understood; it was all a ruse. Jack was talking to him, not to Barbossa, he meant for _him _to wait for until the opportune moment. He shifted a quick glance at Marie, who nodded slightly. She was in on this, too. In fact, she was doing an excellent job of playing along. She looked positively horrified by what Jack was saying. But only he who knew Marie so well could see that it was all a bluff.

Once Jack was certain that Will had gotten the message, he turned back to Barbossa, "For instance," he scooped up a handful of coins from the chest, and as he spoke, he threw them back in one by one, "After you've killed Norrington's men, every last one of them."

The pirates on Barbossa's crew chuckled, already completely sold on the idea and lusting after the idea of cutting a few English throats. Barbossa was only marginally convinced of Jack's sincerity, could still see one glaring flaw that Jack had seemingly forgotten to mention. "It's all well and good what ye are proposin' Jack, and I am half inclined to accept your deal, however, you still haven't told me a key point in your argument: what is it you want out of all this?"

"Now what makes you think I want anything else?"

"Because you always do, Jack; that's how you operate. Nothing is ever obvious with you. There's always something lurking underneath the surface which benefits you and only you directly. Now, out with it."

"Well, now that you mention it, there might be one small thing." And he turned his eyes upon Marie.

Although Marie had caught onto his scheme, this unexpected part of the negotiation created just the right amount of shock and disgust in her, to cause her to lunge forward and scream, "Jack Sparrow, you traitorous scum!" had it not been for the fact that two of Barbossa's crew sprang forward to restrain her (and it must be admitted, they only just managed to succeed), there's not telling how far she might have succeed in killing Jack right then and there.

"Leave her be!" Will also shouted, struggling to break free from his captors.

Barbossa, once the twins had been restrained, looked from Jack to Marie and laughed. "To be honest, Jack, I thought that might be what you really wanted. You can have her, Jack. I wish you luck. You're goin' to be needin' it."

"You've been planning from this from the beginning," Said Will, glaring coldly at Jack, "ever since you learned our names."

Jack wasn't one to waste words. "Yeah. Well, the part with you, obviously. Marie was just sort of an added bonus."

"Jack," growled Marie, "If you lay one hand on me, I swear that I will kill you."

The dire threat in her voice made Jack shudder inwardly. He was glad that this was all a ruse (at least, he hoped that she remembered that), otherwise he would have begun to worry about his future.

On the whole, however, the thing seemed more or less settled, except for a few loose strings that Barbossa felt a need to clear up right away. "I want fifty percent of your plunder."

"Fifteen." Said Jack, who seemed offended.

"Forty."

"Twenty-five." Retorted Jack, with finality, "And I'll buy the hat, a really big one," he paused, for dramatic effect, "Commodore."

That settled it. Barbossa smiled and offered his hand to Jack, "We have an accord."

Jack took Barbossa's hand, and the two shook on the deal. Then, Jack raised his voice and addressed the entire group of pirates. "All hands to the boats!"

Silence, a decidedly awkward silence. Barbossa stared at Jack, and Jack realized that he had maybe gone a step too far. "My apologies," he said, quickly, before Barbossa could catch the scheme, "you give the orders."

Barbossa turned to the pirates, smiling cunningly, and said, "Gents, take a walk."

That was all the cursed crew needed to hear. Laughing in cruel anticipation, they began to head for the shore of the cave. Jack and Marie exchanged glances, and Marie could tell at a glance that this latest development had clearly not been part of Jack's original plan of action.

"Not to the boats?" questioned Jack.

Barbossa merely looked at him. Jack may have experienced a change of heart, but he wasn't about to take any chances. It was best to use the advantage of the curse while he had it.

Jack may not have been able to read all this, but he saw enough to convince him of one thing: he was most definitely in trouble.

* * *

Hope everyone liked these chapters. As always, read and review.

Next chapter: The opportune moment has arrived. It's time for brilliant sword-play, the settlement of old debts, and the realization that sometimes the very people we think we can't tolerate, are the very ones we cannot live without.


	29. Chapter 29: The Opportune Moment

Yes, here I am. I am back. I am not dead. And here are two new chapters of this whole crazy adventure. Everybody Enjoy!

Chapter 30: The Opportune Moment

The clouds that had been covering the white face of the moon had at last rolled away, revealing illumination that was almost as bright as day. Even below the waters of the ocean, weird light stood out against blue shadows. Something was stirring the waters this night, and what that something was should not have been seen by human eyes.

Fish swam away in terror, sensing the waters had become tainted with evil. The moonlight shone down onto the ocean floor, revealing an entire army of skeletal pirates. Bits of rotting flesh and moldering clothing still hung from the decaying bones.

They continued their inevitable march. Their target: the crew of the _Dauntless_, and they would be taking no prisoners. Just because they couldn't die themselves didn't mean that they could not inflict it on others.

As they passed under the shadow of the _Dauntless_, human flesh seemed to return to their bodies instantly. But once back in the moonlight, the freakish skeleton returned, and in their unseeing, all-seeing eyes and the fiendishly twisted grinning of the mouth, were the face of nightmares.

* * *

The treasure cave was nearly empty. Only Barbossa, Jack, Will and Marie, along with a handful of Barbossa's crew remained. Barbossa was sitting on the treasure mound, while Jack roamed around the chamber, poking his nose into every nook and cranny, trying to figure out which items in the cave would be the most valuable. Picking up a gold statuette, he turned it around in his hands, trying to puzzle out just what exactly it was supposed to be. It looked like some sort of bizarre Buddhist sculpture, though what the value of that might be to anyone Jack had yet to ascertain.

Barbossa spoke then, breaking Jack out of contemplation of the odd contraption. "I must admit, Jack, I thought I had ya figured. But it turns out you're a hard man to predict."

At last Barbossa had had the decency to pay him a complement, though it had come ten years late. Though even that wouldn't have been enough for Barbossa to stop Jack now; did Barbossa really believe all that stuff about the phony deal about Commodore Barbossa and Jack sailing under his colors? Had Barbossa truly known him better, he would have been able to tell from the start that it was nothing but a pack of lies. He would never have been able to follow Barbossa; that last shot Jack was carrying was still meant for him.

"Me, I'm dishonest," he said, as he threw the statue away and began walking towards Barbossa, seemingly making idle conversation. "And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for; because you can never predict when they're gonna do something really stupid." And with that succinct statement, he kicked an unsuspecting pirate into the water, nimbly catching his sword as he went down.

The move was so smooth and swift, that neither Barbossa nor his men were able to stop it. Jack tossed the sword to Will, who, even with his hands bound behind him, was able to catch the sword. Marie threw all her weight against the pirate who was guarding her and managed to cause him to fall over backwards. Nobody had to tell the twins that the opportune moment had come.

Barbossa snorted in rage as he saw his prey fighting back. But, he had his own fight to deal with. Jack, grim-faced, had drawn his own sword, and was on the attack. A long awaited duel had begun and only one person would be coming out of it alive.

Marie knew that she would be in trouble if she didn't get a sword in her hand pretty quickly. Her hands were still bound, and though Will would gladly have helped her, his hands were full trying to take care of his own pirate guards, leaving Marie to fend for herself.

Roaring, the pirate who was attacking her raised his hand to bring it slashing down on her head. Luckily, Marie was quick enough to see the opportunity and raised her hands above her head. The sharp sword made quick work of the bonds. The pirate clearly had not been expecting this move, and he certainly hadn't been expecting her quick flip of the wrist, that caused her to grab him by the arms.

Marie looked down, slightly horrified to see that she was clutching the rotting bone of skeletal arm. She was so utterly repulsed that she very nearly dropped it. But, she somehow managed to overcome her disgust. "Sorry." She said, and stamped down on the pirate's foot.

The next moment, the pirate was hopping up and down, holding his foot and cursing. He didn't seem to notice that in the process of doing such an action, he had dropped his sword to the cave floor. And by the time he could think about it, Marie had already snatched it up. "I think I'm going to be needing this more then you are." She then kicked him backwards into the water.

Will was hard-pressed. Expert swordsman though he was, he didn't know how to much longer he could hold out against three pirates who couldn't be easily killed. He was being boxed in on all sides, and they were steadily gaining the upper hand. That is until Marie came in from nowhere and delivered a stinging slash to one of the pirates' backside. This riled the pirates and they began to turn their attack on Marie, but it took some of the weight off Will.

"Do you need help?" she asked, over the noise of clashing swords, as they traded blows with their respective enemies.

"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you."

Meanwhile, Jack and Barbossa were dealing out thrusts and parries at an alarming rate. They were nearly evenly matched, and since their feud ran deeper than any simple act of defense, it was a spectacular fight to watch.

Jack had the advantage of being nimble and quick, he almost seemed to possess the ability to have his sword in two places at once. But Barbossa had had more time to learn how to fight dirty and hack off heads at an extremely young age. His brute force of style was a fine counterpoint to Jack's speed. They were keeping each other constantly on guard, never giving any opening for a straight attack. And perhaps Barbossa might have had a slight advantage over Jack, that of the curse. He pressed that advantage for all it was worth and it seemed to be working. Jack's eyes were beginning to show faint signs of panic.

At one point, Barbossa brought down his sword on Jack's upraised parry, and he used the opportunity to get in close to his enemy's face. "Ye're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters!" He whirled his entire body in a twisting motion, leaving Jack reeling and vulnerable. His face twisted into an ugly sneer and his harsh laughter echoing off of the cave walls, Barbossa pursued Jack deeper into the caves, intent upon beginning the attack anew.

* * *

Outside the cave, Norrington was beginning to grow worried. Something was wrong; Sparrow was taking far too long for his liking. Perhaps that pirate had meant to betray them all along. Each passing moment was convincing him more of that fact, and was only hardening his resolve to hang the troublemaking Jack Sparrow as soon as they could get back to Port Royal.

But, things were about to go from bad to worse. The tolling of a bell suddenly reached the Commodore's ears. He, along with everyone else in the longboats turned to face the east, where the _Dauntless _was lying at anchor, seemingly peaceful and undisturbed, or so it at first appeared. But in the brightness of the full moon, he began to see flashes of white light and hear the sound of clashing metal, men shouting, shots firing.

James suddenly realized with horror that the _Dauntless_ was under attack. He had been right. Sparrow had betrayed them. But how? There had been no sign from the cave mouth… but he couldn't consider that now. He had and his men had to back to the _Dauntless_, fast.

"Make for the ship! Move!"

As they began their approach, the _Dauntless_ began firing at the rapidly approaching longboats. James began to realize with a sinking feeling that their situation was very dire indeed. But, he refused to even consider backing down. It was like the years were reversed and he saw his home town being ransacked by pirates. He could see his father, his mother, his sister, everyone he had ever cared for murdered before his very eyes. He had been powerless to save those dearest to him once, he _wouldn't_ let the same thing happen again. If those beasts so much as laid a hand on Emma, he would kill them all without a second thought.

It did not strike him until very later how very odd such a thought was. If he was engaged to Elizabeth, he should have been concerned with her safety first and foremost. And yet, when it came down to the matter of life and death, the one person whose life mattered the most to him, the one person he would have laid down his own life for without a second thought, was not Elizabeth, but Emma.


	30. Chapter 30: One Last Shot

Chapter 31: Once Last Shot

The treasure caves of Isla de Muerta were ringing with the sounds of steel clashing upon steel. Things were not going well. Because of the pirates' undead advantage, Will and Marie could do nothing beyond fight and hope for the best. This was made a little easier by the fact that even if the pirates couldn't be killed, they weren't very smart or observant of their surroundings.

At one point, when one of the pirates in skeletal form, made a mad dive at Will, he accidentally stabbed one of his crewmen in the ribs cage. The unfortunate crewman let out a scream and then unceremoniously stabbed the offender in the stomach. They both seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that Will was standing right in front of them. They looked at each the swords which were sticking out of their bodies, looked at each other, and then finally noticed Will, as if seeing him for the first time. Roaring, they pulled the swords in their bodies and attacked him anew. It was quite obvious from this little episode that whatever brains the pirates might have had melted away with the rest of their internal organs whenever they entered the moonlight.

Jack, however, didn't even have that to defend himself against Barbossa. His former first mate had driven him back up a narrow ledge that ran above the main floor of the cave. Barbossa shoved Jack violently to his knees. Jack turned back to try and combat Barbossa from his disadvantaged position, managing to land a few strong blows, but Barbossa deflected them all too easily. Jack as in a hopeless position; he was completely at Barbossa's mercy. But at the very moment when Barbossa had Jack in power, he didn't press his advantage and move in for the kill, he unexpectedly stopped.

Jack stared at him, surprised. Barbossa threw his sword away and said, "You can't beat me, Jack."

Seizing the moment, Jack surged forward and pierced Barbossa through the heart. Nothing happened. Barbossa sighed in mock frustration, as if Jack were a fool for not realizing the obvious sooner. Jack was staring at the blade in apparent disbelief, unable to grasp that this was possible. And it was then that Barbossa struck. Like lightening, he drew the sword out of his body and plunged it into Jacks chest.

Marie had been fighting down below on the cave's main floor. But when she saw what had happened, she froze in horror. Several thoughts followed in quick succession through her mind, all of them leading her to the truth that she had been denying for so long: Jack had just been stabbed, Jack was going to die, she would never see him again. That idea broke her heart, and it broke her heart because it was then, and only then, that Marie realized that she was in love with Jack Sparrow. This revelation made her feel as if, just like Jack, she too had just been stabbed through the heart. She was too late.

Will saw what had happened to Jack, and he also observed the heartbroken, surprised and devastated look on his sister's face. He did not have to see anything else to connect the two and to realize the truth.

Jack gurgled, his eyes wide with surprise and pain. Barbossa was smiling with cruel enjoyment at Jack's death, relishing every moment of it. Jack, apparently on his last strength, stumbled backward into the moonlight, and instantly the flesh melted from his bones and he turned into a skeleton.

Barbossa stared at the sight before him in complete and utter astonishment. This couldn't be happening.

Jack lifted one of his skeletal hands and inspected the moldering bones of his fingers with evident interest. "That's interestin'." Apparently Jack's impudence remained the same whether he was living or half-dead. Jack raised his left hand and flipped through his fingers one of the coins that he had stolen from the chest right under Barbossa's nose. "Couldn't resist, mate!" he said, cheekily. Barbossa's advantage was no more; the playing field had been leveled.

Barbossa was too angry to say anything; he merely growled and bent to retrieve the sword he had thrown aside. Jack withdrew his own sword from his ribcage. Barbossa, sword in hand, threw a handful of coins in Jack's eyes, momentarily blinding him. Sword met sword and the duel between the two undead opponents began anew.

The action below them, which had momentarily been frozen, came back to life almost instantly. And once more, Will and Marie were in the thick of it. The full weight of the twins' discovery of Marie's feelings for Jack would come later on. Right now, they had more important things to worry about, namely, not getting killed by undead pirates.

The fight between Jack and Barbossa was gaining in intensity. A quarrel which had gone unresolved for ten years couldn't be resolved easily. As Jack pushed Barbossa down onto a rock, in the moonlight, Barbossa felt a need to comment on their somewhat pointless course of action. "So what now, Jack Sparrow," he inquired, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until judgment day and trumpets sound, hmm?"

Jack's face had taken a dangerous look. The time for joking was long past, and he was now deadly serious, with an emphasis one the word, "deadly." "Or you could surrender." He growled coldly, menacing Barbossa with his sword.

It was apparent that things could only end one way now: though Jack and Barbossa were undead, this was a duel from which only one of them would walk away alive.

The two fights between the different groups of combatants were raging all over the cave floor. Between Barbossa and Jack, and Marie, Will and the other pirates, there was no obvious sign of weakness. They were both evenly matched and none seemed to be gaining the upper hand. But, this lasted about as long as one of the pirates who were fighting Will and Marie seemed to remember that he had a beard which was perpetually smoking and smoldering, and he could use it to set off grenades, which he proceeded to do. The delicate balance of the fight seemed to be shifting in favor of the pirates.

The cave rocked with the force of the explosion from the grenade. Coins and gold trinkets flew in all different directions. Will was knocked off his feet, his sword flying from his hand, leaving him defenseless. Marie, who was the other side of the cave at this moment, saw this and also saw the pirate with the smoking black beard come toward him, sword drawn, a gleeful look in his beady, black eyes. "I'm gonna teach you th' meanin' of pain." He said, raising his sword over his head.

Suddenly, a voice stopped him. "You like pain?" The pirate looked off to the side, and immediately got whomped in the face with a solid gold pole. Wielding the pole was none other than Elizabeth, her eyes ablaze. "Try wearing a corset."

Will grinned with relief, as he grabbed the end of the pole that Elizabeth offered to him. The two of them looked into each other's eyes for a moment, but the sound of loud clashing, grunting and cursing, coming from the fight between Jack and Barbossa met their ears. They had both taken on their skeletal forms, fighting each other violently.

"Whose side is Jack on?" Elizabeth asked.

Will shrugged. "At the moment?"

They both turned and charged the pirates who were still remaining. Working in tandem with each other and Marie, it wasn't long before they had skewered all the pirates on the pole. Will grabbed one of the grenades from the black bearded pirate, lit the fuse and shoved it into his ribcage. Panic overtook the pirates as the danger which they were in dawned on them.

The three pushed the pirates out of the moonlight, turning them back into something that slightly resembled humanity. The black-bearded pirate, digging frantically in his chest for the grenade, looked up and said, almost pitifully, "No fair."

"It rarely is." Marie shot back, before she, Elizabeth and Will made a quick get away.

The explosion rang through the cave. But Will seemed to barely notice it. He was charging straight for the treasure pile. "Will, where are you going?" asked Elizabeth.

"It's time to end this." Was all he said.

Jack and Barbossa had fought a complete circuit around the cave and were now right back to where they had started. And it was here that it would end.

Jack saw that Will was running for the treasure pile. Without thinking, he took the coin he had taken in hand and sliced it with his sword. He stepped up his attack on Barbossa, distracting him with a quick series of parries and thrusts. At the first moment open to him, he threw the coin to Will. It whistled through the air and landed in Will's hand.

Barbossa growled, and looked around, and saw Marie, who rushing towards them, Elizabeth behind her. He sneered; it was time to start drawing blood. If he couldn't have his pleasure with Jack or the Turner, than he would be taking the next best thing. Drawing it, he aimed straight at Marie.

Marie stopped short, seeing the pistol too late to get out of the way. Barbossa had a clear shot at her and from that range he could hardly miss. She was trapped.

At that very same instant, when Jack saw Marie in danger, for the first time, since the whole adventure had started felt fear. He was not afraid for himself, it was for Marie. As he imagined what it would be like if Marie were shot to death right in front in him, a sick feeling of dread seemed to encompass his whole body. He couldn't let it happen. And it was only then that he understood. He couldn't deny it any longer. He was not just attracted to Marie, he was in love with her, deeply, passionately and truly-for-the-first-time-in-his-life in love. His feelings gave him clarity to see his opportune moment.

Barbossa did not see or know any of this. He was focused entirely on Marie, as his finger tightened on the trigger.

Flint met tinder, the fire ignited and the bullet flew straight to its targets, all in the space of a few short seconds.

Marie gasped at the sound of the gun going off. She waited to feel, well, something; pain, cold, numb, she didn't know. What was death supposed to feel like anyway? But she felt nothing; there wasn't even any feeling of darkness moving over her. Confused, she looked at Barbossa, who seemed just as mystified in the face of this unexpected turn of events, for it was clearly not him who had fired the shot. The only other person who it could have been was…

Barbossa's eyes moved from Marie to Jack, who was stone-faced, and holding a smoking pistol. One shot was all he had had; one shot was all that he had needed.

"Ten years ya carry that pistol and now you waste your shot?" said Barbossa, with pitying smugness.

But then, Will's strong voice broke the silence and put an end to all doubt. "He didn't waste it."

Barbossa turned to look up at Will, who standing atop the treasure pile. The stone knife, bloodied on one side was held in one hand and the other was clenched in a fist over the chest of cursed Aztec treasure. Slowly, he opened his hand, and the two coins, one splattered with the blood of a Sparrow, the other with the blood of a Turner fell into the chest. The curse of Cortez was broken.

It took no time at all for Barbossa to feel that something had changed. He could suddenly feel the cold dank air of the cave. His lungs were pulling in and out for air. The blood was pounding in his head. But what he felt most was the coppery taste of death in his mouth, and in his heart, there was only a dull pain. His sword clattered to the stone floor and he pulled aside his coat, only to see the blood from the wound on his chest begin to ooze out, staining his shirt an angry red.

Any other man would have been screaming, but Barbossa was so overwhelmed at how much he was feeling after so long that he couldn't react as a normal man would have. The irony of the situation was not lost on him; after so much years of striving to sense even the most basic feeling, he had at last achieved his goal, only to feel his own death. But than, at the end, who would have thought that there would be so much to experience?

He looked up, eyes not seeing Jack or anything else around him. His expression was a mixture of sadness, irony, and oddly, a strange type of joy. "I feel… cold." And then, he fell, the apple rolled from his hand, never to be tasted.

And so it was, that Hector Barbossa, the cursed captain of the _Black Pearl_, met his end. Or, did he?

* * *

On the deck of the _Dauntless_, the fight had reached a dead-lock struggle, though it had been slowly turning in the pirate's favor.

But when Norrington viciously stabbed one of them in the stomach, all action suddenly froze when the pirate groaned in agony, and this sound, was heard by every one of Barbossa's crew. They all stopped fighting, looking at their blades and each other in disbelief.

The pirate that Norrington had stabbed looked strangely relieved, before he fell to the deck, dead. The pirates looked at the body in apparent awe, before looking up into the sky, where a full moon was gazing down from the sky. They were no longer cursed, and the will to fight seemed to drain from them. When threatened by the swords and bayonets of Norrington's crew, they all dropped their weapons, which fell to the deck in communal clattering. The Royal Navy had won.

"The ship is ours, gentlemen." Said Norrington and everyone, sailors and soldiers began shouting "Huzzah!" in a spirit of victory.

However, despite the fact that he had every reason to celebrate, James found that he couldn't bring himself to share the same level of excitement with his crew. Questions yet unanswered still swirled in his mind. How many of his crew was still alive? Who of them were dead? And most important of all, where was Emma? And Elizabeth, though Elizabeth was more of a second thought at the moment where Emma was concerned.

At that very moment, James heard her voice behind him. "James?"

He turned, and was overjoyed to see her coming towards her, the governor behind her. James was so relieved to see her alive and apparently unhurt that he didn't notice at first that Elizabeth was nowhere in sight.

"Emma," he said, "are you alright?"

"Yes, we are. Though for a moment there, I was honestly wondering."

James suddenly seemed to remember himself and that Elizabeth was not with them. "Where is Elizabeth?" he asked, almost ashamed that he had more or less forgotten about her.

The Governor coughed slightly and Emma seemed to be blushing in slight embarrassment. "Wherever Elizabeth is at the moment," said the Governor, "I am sure she will be along soon. And I will have some words with her."

"I see." Said James, who thought it best not to inquire further. He looked around him at the prisoners who beginning to be herded into groups by the Royal Navy. "Fighting skeletal pirates. No one in London is going to believe this."

"Than perhaps you should omit what happened in the cabin just now." Said Emma.

"Oh, what happened?"

Emma looked at her father, who was now the one looking a trifle embarrassed and looked back at James, a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

Well, that was certainly exciting, even if I do say so myself. I hope you thought so, too. Read and review.

Next chapter: The battle is over, but what will become of our favorite characters, now? With Elizabeth engaged to James, Will and Emma depressed and Marie and Jack not having told each other how they feel, things seem pretty dismal right now. In the next chapter, things will begin to change, especially when Will finally is able to give Jack some much needed advice.


	31. Chapter 31: The Advice

Ordinarily, I would put something exciting here, however, I have nothing, so just enjoy reading.

Chapter 31: The Advice

In the treasure cave, everything had gone quiet. The enemies had been defeated and now the survivors were preparing to leave. Or to be perfectly accurate, they weren't leaving until Jack took care of a few important items of business, namely rifling through the mountainous piles of treasure that were scattered around the cave. After all, now that he was rightfully captain of the _Black Pearl_, he felt himself entitled to it. He shifted through it all, taking a look at each item and tossing it casually over his shoulder if he didn't like the look of it.

Marie approached him, unsure of what to say. She was half-afraid to look him in the eye, lest he should see what she had been feeling all along and that she had only just come to realize herself. She watched him as he sifted through the treasure, before saying, "You seem mighty buoyant at this moment, considering that you're about to be hanged."

"Now, who said anything about me bein' hanged by anyone?"

"The Royal Navy if their word if anything to be listened, too."

"Well, it just so happens that I'm not listenin' to them, at least not until I became Captain of the _Black Pearl_. I have my own pardon now, and it doesn't include me hangin' from a noose."

"So, you plan on making a run for it?"

"I prefer to think of it as slipping away quietly."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."

The two of them laughed, enjoying a rare moment of harmony between their two often tempestuous personalities.

After a moment of silence, Jack said, "Why don't you come with me? You've got a lot of spirit, and I can always use a person like you."

Marie couldn't possibly understand why Jack would want here of all people on his crew, but she was flattered nonetheless. It didn't seem like an offer that Jack would make to just anyone. "I'm seriously tempted to take you up on your offer, Jack, but I don't think that I could pay the price."

"What price? The Royal Navy? Now, luv, you may be pushin' it a bit. Besides, I thought you liked goin' against convention."

"No, not that price, Jack. It's the whole idea of… greed."

"Greed?" said Jack, slightly puzzled.

"Yes, like Barbossa. He and his crew pursue this treasure of Cortez because they are greedy. They find it, they take it, and for what what? They only turn into greed themselves. I wouldn't want something like that to happen to me, whether it be by cursed means or otherwise."

Jack was silent for a moment as he considered what she had said, and he had to admit that she had a point. "You forget, Marie, that I was the one who wanted to find this treasure in the first place. I used to be like Barbossa." Marie looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Okay, I shared some of his many bad qualities. I was young than, and I was in piracy mainly for the treasure. It wasn't until I lost the _Pearl_ that it became clear to me that there was far more to piracy than simply being a quick way to get rich and there's not a guarantee that you'll even get that. The real treasure that mattered is the freedom, the adventure, the philosophy of there being no boundaries to hem you in. You don't respond to anyone but yourself, and learn to value everyday, because you never know if your life can be cut short by a Royal Navy's noose or another pirate's cutlass. That is what really counts and I think that you would understand that. That's why you would make such a wonderful pirate; you know what really matters. I can only think of the stories that we could create."

"We?" said Marie, incredulously.

"You, you." Amended Jack, quickly. He had no idea why that had slipped out, it was just the strangely pleasurable image he was entertaining of having Marie by his side at the helm of the _Black Pearl_, sailing into the horizon and the next adventure beyond. Of course, he wasn't mad enough to think that it would ever come to pass. He may have loved Marie (and he could now say quite definitely that he did love her), he wasn't about to start letting himself pine away.

"So," said Marie, bringing him out of his thoughts, "pirates of your type aren't really in it for the treasure?"

"Of course, we are. It's an added bonus, if you can find it. Come on, you're not even a little tempted?"

Marie looked around her at the piles of gold coins, ropes of pearls and diamonds, silver platters and many other things of value to numerous to mention, let alone describe in detail. She found herself smiling, "Well, perhaps a little."

"And who wouldn't be?" he shifted through the treasure and fished out a gold crown encrusted with jewels. Jack seemed unusually gleeful by this discovery. "Ah, look here. A crown fit for a king, eh?"

Marie just stared at Jack. "What kind of king are we talking about, a king of fools?"

"Well, I can see you don't have any inclination for it. I'll just keep it for myself." Said Jack, who looked quite satisfied with the arrangement. "But, isn't there something here that you could even conceive yourself wanting?" he shifted aside a few pieces of gold plate and silver platter, reached his hand into a pile of jewelry and somehow managed to pull out one of the most beautiful necklaces that Marie had ever seen. Threaded through a rope of pure gold, a sapphire pendant glowed in the shaft of moonlight, a shifting pattern of color that ranged from dark green to deep blue. Marie could not miss the fact that it matched the color of her eyes. "Now this, if I may say so," said Jack, utterly sincere," might have belonged to a queen, but it wouldn't look its best unless it were on you."

Marie, for the first since she had met the pirate captain, was totally lost for words. "Jack, I couldn't-"

"Just take it." Said Jack, as he took one of her hands and placed the necklace into it, closing her fingers over it. "A souvenir, eh, of our little adventure?"

Marie, despite herself, smiled, almost shyly. She couldn't do anything but accept the gift. Another long glance in silence and then Jack abruptly went back to searching the treasure. Marie didn't object. He was, after all, a pirate.

Glancing behind her, she saw Elizabeth and Will standing a little ways for them, staring at each other. It would have been a perfect moment for them to admit their feelings; they had been through so much, even to the edge of death. There wouldn't be another time like this, when they would be so freed from convention and able to see each other as they really were.

Will opened his mouth and he looked like he was about to speak, when suddenly a loud clattering sound more or less ruined the moment. Marie cast Jack an annoyed glance, which, of course, he didn't notice in the least, because he was so absorbed in picking through the treasure like a magpie.

Marie looked back only to see that the two had allowed the moment to slip away and now they both looked decidedly tongue-tied and embarrassed.

"We should return to the _Dauntless_." Elizabeth half-whispered.

"Your fiancée will be wanting to know your safe." Said Will, and Marie honestly felt smacking her brother. He spoke as he had always done to her, as though nothing had changed between them.

Elizabeth was evidently hurt by Will's now coolly polite attitude, and she turned and hurried away. Jack, who had apparently finished his excavation of the treasure cave, sauntered up behind Will. He was draped in ropes of pearl, carrying masses of gold objects, with the jewel-encrusted crown perched on his side in a lop-sided manner. "If you were waiting for the opportune moment," he said, pointing after Elizabeth, "that was it." He didn't need to rub in the obvious, but he was in such a jovial mood that he didn't even seem to notice. He strutted past Will, heading for the mouth of the cave, saying as he went, "Now, if you'll be so kind, I'd much obliged if you'd drop me off at my ship."

Will and Marie exchanged looks, and perhaps for the first time in their lives, they both saw that there were secrets between them, secrets that they would have preferred not to be revealed. "Is there something you want to tell me, Marie?" Will asked.

"No." said Marie, "nothing that either one of us would understand at the moment. Come on, let's get out of here. I can't say that I feel at all sorry to leave this place."

Will nodded his agreement. Whatever secrets they might now be keeping from each other, they could at least agree that they were both perfectly willing to leave the nightmare of the Isla de Muerta behind them.

* * *

The lifeboat floated just outside the mouth of the cave, bobbing up and down like a top on the waves. There was no sound, save the water lapping against the island rocks. It was a haunting melody of despair and gloom, which mirrored the mood of all those who sat in the longboat. None more than Jack, who was staring at the empty bay before him with a blank expression; for half-a-minute he had stared at the place where the _Black Pearl_ should have been, hoping that his eyes were playing some sort of joke on him, but that couldn't last long. The _Black Pearl_ was gone once more, snatched away from him just when he had been sure that she had been within his grasp.

Elizabeth finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"They done what's right by them,' said Jack, "can't expect more than that.

* * *

The _Dauntless_was going home. Slowly, silently, it cut through the dark waters of the Caribbean, its course set for Port Royal. There was not a soul onboard who wasn't relieved to be getting farther away from the Isla de Muerta, but with that relief came the deadening weight of solemnity. The Royal Navy may have won the day, but it had come at a high price. More than a third of the crew had been slaughtered and blood soaked the deck of the proud vessel. In shifts the crew searched the ship, retrieving and naming the dead, washing the blood from the _Dauntless' _wood and guarding the prisoners that they had taken. All was overseen by Commodore Norrington. He refused to rest or eat when there was work to be done. There was a marked difference in his demeanor. His mask had slipped slightly and those who looked closely could see the slump of his shoulders, the dragging of his feet and the look of unspoken grief on his face, especially in his eyes. James had taken the entirety of the deaths upon his shoulders and the loss of those who were under his command had clearly affected him.

Emma and Elizabeth spent as much time apart as they could. Despite the relieved hug they had shared after Elizabeth had returned safely from her excursion to the Isla de Muerta, they had done the most they could do to avoid speaking to each other. Now that they were retuning home, leaving their adventures behind them, the full weight of the fact that Elizabeth was engaged to the man that Emma loved was beginning to be realized by them, and also the unalterable effect that such an event would have upon their relationship. They could never be as they once were. They would always love each other, but the consequences of their own actions would always place a strain between them, and there was nothing they could do stop it.

As for Jack, Marie and Will, they were all of them condemned to ride out the rest of the trip in the cells of the _Dauntless_' brig. Luckily, they hadn't been put in with the former cursed crewmen of the _Black Pearl_(thanks to Emma's insincetence that they be given proper accommodation). Though they were in prison, only one of them knew for sure that he was doomed for the gallows. Marie and Will would almost certainly be pardoned. Jack was already marked and condemned.

As the night wore on, Marie eventually curled up in the cell that she and Will were sharing and fell asleep. And it was not long before Will noticed that Jack was staring at her.

"Will she be all right?" he asked Will.

"She'll be fine." Said Will, "She doesn't need any special treatment; she's strong."

"Yes," said Jack, almost unthinkingly, "she is."

Will glanced at Jack, but didn't say anything for the moment. As he looked back at Marie, he noticed something sparkling in the moonlight. He picked up the necklace that Jack had given her and turned to stare at Jack with his penetrating brown eyes once more. "Your doing, may I guess?"

Jack suddenly looked very embarrassed. "Well, yes."

"I see." Will's expression was unreadable, as he looked from the necklace, to Marie and back to Jack.

"Now, Will, don't start goin' all protective. It was a gift, that's all. Just somethin' for her to remember this escapade. And maybe somethin' that will help her remember me, too."

Will didn't miss the slight dropping of Jack's voice on this last part, nor did he miss the sudden, almost awkward tenderness in Jack's eyes. "Why do you think I should be protective? You're the one who's getting defensive." There was no trace of anger or accusation in Will's tone, in fact it was perfectly serene. Jack had obviously not been expecting such a calm response. As a result, he didn't have any good response ready. Will replaced the necklace in his sister's hand and leaned against the wall of his cell. "Look, Jack, I know what you think of me, sometimes. I'm just a boy, naïve and foolish. I don't seem to notice anything, but I actually do notice some things, things that I think you have never had any experience with. I'm not as blind as you might think I am."

"Well, for what it's worth, you've rose somewhat in my opinion since we first met. So, I'll try to listen to you. Would you care to give me an example?"

"I know you're in love with my sister."

Jack's mouth dropped open and for a moment he looked truly comical. He croaked something unintelligible. Will held up a hand, "Don't try and make excuses that both of us know won't work. For once, just accept the truth and don't try to deny it."

"How did you know?" asked Jack in a quiet voice, after a moment's silence.

"Does it really matter?" asked Will, "The only thing that matters is that you're a condemned man."

"No, really, thank you for reminding me."

"Jack, I'm being serious. What I'm trying to say is that I don't care what you may think, all that matters is what you do with the time you have left. I've learned a lot from you, Jack. You always seem to be full of advice for me, now let me give you some advice about love."

"What can you know about love when you've been hiding your feelings for Elizabeth for so long?"

"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you." Said Will, surprising Jack with his quick turn of phrase. "And I do know that pain that comes from not admitting something like this. I don't want Marie to have to experience that."

"How do you suggest I go about doing that?" said Jack, "I mean, I don't really have that much experience in this particular area."

Will shook his head. "I can't tell you that, Jack. All I can advise you to do is tell her, and soon. I've observed that you often wait for the opportune moment. However, in this instance, if you want until then, the opportune moment might be too late."

There was no more to be said. Jack, as if in exchange for all the things that he had taught Will, now had a lot to think about himself.

* * *

I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. As always, read and review.

Next chapter: The confessions of multiple characters bring innumerable secrets and emotions to the surface.


	32. Chapter 32: Confessions

Wow, can you believe it, two chapters in the course of a week. That has to be some sort of record. Anyway, I hope that everyone likes this chapters. It's very dense, and most people will no doubt find it depressing. But I again promise a general happy ending all around. Enjoy!

Chapter 32: Confessions

Many days had passed since the _Dauntless_, battle-weary, but successful, had returned to Port Royal. The citizens had celebrated the fact that not only had the Governor's youngest daughter been returned safely, but also at the fact that infamous crew of the _Black Pearl_, long-time menaces of the Caribbean, were in custody. Not only were the waters of the Caribbean now much less dangerous, but there was also anticipation for the grand succession of hangings. They were a well-attended events, hangings, and a prime source of entertainment for anyone who enjoyed a gruesome spectacle, which was pretty much anyone. And then, of course, there was the romantic story of how Elizabeth, having been rescued by the efforts of the dashing Commodore Norrington, had returned his fiancée. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale, and everyone in Port Royal who heard the news was sure that everyone involved would enjoy a happy ending.

But, they only got the echoes of what had truly happened. For six of the adventure's main players, the future held anything but happiness.

One night, fully a week-and-a-half since the _Dauntless_had returned, James Norrington was working late in his office. He had detested the events of the past few days. Seeing men hanged, even if they did deserve it, made him feel sick. He much preferred open battle, where there was never any doubt as to which side was the right one. But, like this, there was always something that felt wrong. The past week of hangings had been almost more than he had been able to stand, watching the assembly line of men as they went one by one to the gallows, and each time, the crowd cheering louder. Yet, he felt it was his duty to appear; since he signed the death warrant, it only made sense that he appear for the actual event.

But there was one thing abut this particular string of hangings that made them even worse than normal. And that was the fact that with each pirate that was hanged, that meant that Jack Sparrow was that much closer to sharing their fate. He had put Jack at the very end of the line, hoping in some secret part of himself that by some bizarre stroke of the luck which always seemed to be following Jack around, he would be able to escape the inevitable, and no such thing had happened. Strangely, he felt immensely disappointed about that.

He didn't know why Jack's life should mean so much to him. After all, Jack was a branded pirate; his crimes were recorded and proved under the law. He was bound to die. And yet, he had hardly been able to bring himself to sign the order. He had read it over he knew now how many times. All the regular crimes were there: piracy, smuggling, sailing under false colors. All of them were perfectly illegal actions, but there were glaring omissions as well: murder, rape, careless acts of evil, done just for the fun of it. He had seen and experienced first hand the unthinking cruelty that pirates were able to commit. But Jack was a pirate, and he hadn't done anything like that. In fact, he had been quite helpful, in his own unique way. He had broken the law, and yet, James felt that he didn't deserve to die. In fact, for the first time in his naval career, James was having difficulty understand just what justice was supposed to mean.

It was in the midst of this and many other such musings that he found himself slumped in his office this night, slumped his chair, his work laying forgotten off to one side. His mind was continually tumbling over the events that had transpired over the last few days; there was no real solution, and how could he know the right course of action when he didn't know what was right or what was wrong. There is no telling how long he could have kept going in circles had it not been for the fact that he was soon to be interrupted.

A knock suddenly sounded at his door, startling him from his contemplations. "Come in." he said wearily. He was not exactly either craving or welcoming the idea of company at this point in time.

However, the person who opened the door was totally unexpected. "James?"

At the sound of her soft voice, James looked up, and when he saw her standing there in the doorway, his heart began hammering. He wasn't sure if he should welcome this opportunity or be petrified of it, for Emma Swann was one of the last people he felt he could see, and yet, she was also the one person he didn't want to reject.

Ever since they had arrived back at Port Royal, the unknown feelings which he had started feeling for Emma on the voyage had not diminished, if anything, they had merely increased to the point where he was beginning to think that they paled in comparison to anything that he had once felt for her sister. Besides, the interactions between him and Elizabeth since their return had not been promising. It was not that Elizabeth was not showing him any sort of feeling, it was what she tried to show and miserably failed to make convincing that most unnerved him. And even Emma was beginning to act differently around him, avoiding the intimacy that had grown to be such a mark of their relationship. James was beginning to long for their old friendship to return, but he was beginning to have the sickening feeling that perhaps such a hope would never come true.

"Em… Miss Swann, what brings you here, at this hour?"

Emma seemed awkward, almost agitated, as if she knew what she had to say, but was unsure of how to say it. "I didn't expect to find you here this late, either. Have you slept at all since you returned?"

James shook his head. "Only very little. Every time I close my eyes, the events of the past few days come back to haunt me."

"You had no fault for what happened."

"That's where you're wrong. Those men were my responsibility. I should have returned to the _Dauntless_ at the first sign of trouble. Instead, I feel for "Trojan horse" as foolishly as a simple idiot would have. And because of that, nearly a third of the crew was killed."

"James, you can't go on blaming yourself-"

"Miss Swann, please, don't say anymore. I don't want to talk about it." His voice was sharper than it normally would have been, but James had worn himself out with fatigue and remorse, and his temper was running thin. "You still haven't told me why you are here?"

"Well, if that's what you most want to talk about," said Emma, in a decidedly different tone than the one she had been using before. "I am here about Captain Sparrow."

James had to stifle a groan. She had to bring up the one subject that he least wanted to talk about. "What about him?" he asked, tightly.

"He's going to be hanged tomorrow." She said, quietly.

"I am perfectly aware of that, Miss Swann." Said James, feeling himself almost against his will, sliding back into his cool officer persona. "I signed the order myself."

"Then you must also have the power to save him." said Emma, refusing to let James' change in demeanor detract her from her purpose. "What has he done that deserves death? Leave him in prison if you must, but don't kill him."

"Do you honestly expect him to learn anything by sitting in a cell? He has been imprisoned several times, and each time he escapes, he is as wild and untamable as before. It's my duty to keep order in the Caribbean. I can't just start issuing pardons to pirates. Imagine the effect that would have upon the criminals who are still wondering at large, killing and marauding at the slightest opportunity. Only chaos would result. I cannot allow that to happen."

"Will the freedom of a man such as Sparrow really lead to such dire consequences?" questioned Emma, fiercely, "Stop judging him like a pirate, James, and try to see who he is as a man. I can see that you are struggling with this, however much you are trying to deny it. If you do this, you will never have any peace with yourself."

"Did Elizabeth send you here?" asked James, suddenly.

"What?"

"You know what I mean, Miss Swann. Your sister's hand is in this, I can tell."

Emma remained silent for a moment, before finally saying. "Yes, James, she did ask me to try and intercede on Captain Sparrow's behalf. But I would have come anyway. One last attempt to change your mind before you do something you'll regret for the rest of your life."

"Well," said James with biting sarcasm, "I thank you for your concern, but you have no need to worry about me. I'm sorry if it gives you pain," he said, moving from behind his desk, and going from the door, a not so subtle hint that he considered the interview at an end, "my answer stands. I think that perhaps you had better leave."

Emma wasn't about to let it end like this. She had to think of something that would make her stay, so she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Elizabeth doesn't love you."

James stopped, froze in his tracks and an awful moment of silence descended on the room. Emma, as soon as she had said the words, instantly wished that she hadn't spoken them, but Jack Sparrow's advice to her had taken too deep a route. She couldn't turn back now.

James turned around slowly, a look of shock stamped on his face. "What did you say?"

Emma rose from the chair she had been sitting on and turned to face him. She had to end this, here and now. "I suppose the other unspoken reason as to why I came was to apologize. I have been lying to you, James, to Elizabeth, but most of all, myself. I have been utterly blind, and now you are going to pay the consequences. I'm sorry."

"Emma, what are you talking about?" asked James. He was confused by her sudden transformation of manner. He had never seen her like this.

"Elizabeth doesn't love you." Repeated Emma, almost mechanically. "And she never has."

"But everything you said to me, all the encouragement…

"Lies, all of it, lies. Everything she said to you, I twisted and crafted around so it could seem to you in a favorable light. But the truth is that she feels nothing for you." James was shocked by what he was hearing, too shocked to even speak. She plunged on, forcing herself to admit everything before she convinced herself to do otherwise. "And there's more. If you marry her, you will find the happiness you seek and she will never find what she wants with you. No amount of pretending will be able to keep you from feeling the chasm which separates you. You'll both be strangers to each other. From the moment you say your vows to the day you die, you will regret you ever made the union in the first place."

James could not believe what he was hearing. Though all his disappointments, all of the times that he had been ready to give up, Emma had been the one thing that had always lifted his spirits and given him hope that his advances would be accepted favorably. And yet, she wasn't lying now, either. He could see it in her eyes, and Emma would not joke about something of this serious nature.

"Emma," he said, after a long silence, "why didn't you just come out and tell me the truth? Why did you let my hoped be built up for six months, only to tell me this now?" he couldn't keep his voice from sounding harsh. He was angry and he had every reason to be; the woman he had trusted with everything had suddenly turned around and told him the exact opposite of all she had been saying for so long. He couldn't help but feel as if some deep bond between them had been broken. Seeking to gain control of himself, he asked once more, "Why did you lie to me?"

Emma was close to tears now, but she was struggling to hold them back. She had to stay strong. "Because I loved you too much to tell you a truth that would have hurt you."

Of all the things she could have said so far, this had been the last thing which James would have expected. "What?"

"Have I hid my feelings so well, as that, James? Have you never even come close to guessing what I felt for you?" she took a step forward and taking a deep breath, made her confession. "I have loved you longer than you know, and only now do I see the true folly of trying to hide it for so long." She had hoped to continue, but there were no more words to be said. So, she waited for James to say something, but he didn't, he merely continued string at her, his expression unreadable. The silence drew for so long that she finally said, in quiet desperation. "Have you nothing to say?"

James wasn't sure if he could say anything. He had never expected a woman to say so outright what she felt. It was somewhat ironic that Emma, of all people, should surprise her with her forthrightness, but she had hid it so well, that for a moment James didn't know what to say. "You love me?"

"Yes. And know this: things can never be the same between us if you marry Elizabeth. From the day you marry her, we can never be more than common and indifferent acquaintances. It's the only way. I suppose that I should have expected this. But no matter. In time, perhaps, we can learn to do without each other." She couldn't stay any longer. She could feel her control beginning to crumble, and the tears were burning her eyes. "Excuse me. I must go, I've stayed too long as it is." She hurried to the door, to escape the room which had suddenly become a suffocating atmosphere of broken dreams.

James was suddenly almost as desperate for Emma to stay as she was to leave. He couldn't let it go like this, and yet, what he could have said, he had no idea. "Emma, wait."

Emma's hand was the door, but she turned to face him one last time, her tears all too evident now. "No, James. I can't wait any more. I have waited, and I can't allow myself to continue to wait any longer for something that will never come to pass. My heart won't stand it. From this day on, we can never meet anymore. I daresay it will be easier for you than it will be for me. Goodbye, James." And with that final statement, she opened the door and the next second, she was gone.

James was once more along in his office, to stunned for a few seconds to move or even think coherently. He wasn't entirely sure at first if what had just happened had actually occurred. The weight of Emma's multiple confessions pressed down on his heart, its oppressive weight causing physical pain. His mind roiled with questions as he thought back upon Emma's behavior over the past six months, and even further back. Emma, in love with him? He wouldn't have believed it if Emma herself had not told him.

But now, as he remembered, he could not ignore the many subtle signs that should have alerted him to the fact: All the times she had listened to him, all the advice, the very fact that she had been a friend to him, one of the true friends he had had. And then, there was Elizabeth. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like marriage with Elizabeth was an unappealing idea. When had she paid him any special attention? When had she responded with any sign of affection to his courtship? In fact, up until the very moment she had said yes, he could honestly say that he had never seen any sign of regard or attachment. And then there was still that lurking doubt that the only reason she had consented was to save Turner, and now, he found that doubt now brought to the forefront of his mind. He couldn't deny it: all that Emma had said was true.

How could he have left this happen? Had so many years of hiding behind that mask of an austere navy officer and concealing his feelings, blinded him to what he truly felt and more importantly, to what others were feelings? It seemed like it had. However much Emma may have blamed herself, he too deserved censure for not having seen it sooner.

He stumbled blindly to his desk and collapsed in his chair. It was than that he spotted the book he had been attempting to read before his whole life had started spinning even more out of control. Weary of writing the letters to family members of those who had been lost, he had hoped to temporarily escape by reading the words of William Shakespeare, but the words had all become muddled and mixed together and he didn't really remember any of what he had read at all. But now, as he stared at the page he had been reading since he had been interrupted, sonnet 116 seemed to leap out from the page, straight into his heart as he read aloud quietly to himself:

"_Let me not to the marriage of true minds_

_Admit impediments; love is not love_

_Which it alters when it alteration finds_

_Or bends with the remover to remove._

_O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark_

_That looks on tempests and it never shaken;_

_It is the star to every wandering bark,_

_Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken._

_Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks_

_Within his bending sickle's compass come;_

_Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,_

_But bears it out even to the edge of doom_

_If this be error, and upon me proved, _

_I never writ, nor no man ever loved."_

Sometimes the words of a great poet are what help us to realize hat has been hidden for so long. James suddenly understood why he had so often sought out Emma's presence. It wasn't because of any special feeling of friendship; it was because he loved her. The force of his feelings opened upon him like a floodgate and the intensity of them left him momentarily breathless. Their depth and their truthfulness made anything he had ever felt for Elizabeth seem paltry by comparison.

In the course of a single hour, everything that James Norrington had thought to be certain in his life had shattered completely. He had never before realized just how lost he truly was. And he did not know if it was perhaps too late for him to be found again.

* * *

That same night, in another part of Fort Charles, Captain Jack Sparrow, now without ship, crew, or even freedom, was trying to get some sleep on what was quite possibly the last night of his life. For over a week, he had been serenaded every day with the sounds of the hangings of the formerly cursed crew of the _Black Pearl_. He had sat and watched as they had spent their last days in practical euphoria, relishing every scrap of feeling they could with the time left to them. Even the disgusting prison rations had been shoveled down as if they had been rare delicacies.

Jack had watched them with compassion, despite the fact that they had once turned on him. After ten years, they only had two or three days at most to experience a whole world that they had been dead too. And yet, they had only felt a fraction of what they had once been able to experience.

For him, his heart was aching for the open sea, aching for the _Pearl_, and especially for Marie. He had had ample opportunity to consider Will's advice, and much to his chagrin, Will had actually turned out to be right for once. He now knew that if he had had the chance he would have told her how he felt. However, he didn't seem as if any such opportunity would be granted to him before he went to his grave.

So he tried to sleep, but sleep was proving to be as hard to come by as was a means of escape. However, it would be fortunate, as he looked back upon it, that sleep had not come to him that night.

Though his eyes were closed, he still heard the sound of descending footsteps on the stairs, then the sound as they walked along the grim corridor. He then heard them stop and the gruff voice of the guard, "Only five minutes, you remember."

And then, he felt his heart race as he heard her voice, challenging and spirited as ever, I know, and you also said alone. So, go."

As the heavy footsteps of the guard retreated back along the corridor, he heard quite clearly all that she did next, as he still pretended to sleep. First, she seemed to pace a few steps in front of the cell. She stopped, advanced a few steps, and then he heard her take in a breath, as if she were about to speak, before she sighed in frustration. "What am I doing? This is folly."

As he suspected she was about to leave, he decided that it was time to end the charade. "Look, luv, if you have something to tell me, just get it over with?"

He opened his eyes, seeing Marie standing in front of the cell, her eyes wide with apparent surprise. "Jack, I thought-"

"I'm perfectly aware of what you thought, but I'm obviously not. So why don't you tell me what it is you want to say?"

"What makes you think I want to tell you something?"

"You're skittering around in front of the bars might have alerted me to the fact, and then there is the fact that you here, in a prison, talking to me, of all people, in the middle of the night. And besides those two things, there is also intuition."

"You know, Jack, sometimes I wish you wouldn't act like you know everything, because, in truth, you-" she stopped mid-sentence and shook her head, "There I go, again. I'm doing the very thing I promised myself I wouldn't do."

Jack stood up and sidled over to the bars. Leaning against them, he asked, "And what might that be?"

"You know, Jack: arguing. We seem to find something to fight about at even hello. But I promised myself that I wouldn't let that get in the way this time, if only for once."

"Than let's just skip hello, and get straight to what you want to say."

Marie took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage and said. "Right, than here we go. To be perfectly honest, I half hoped that you were asleep, and then I could avoid saying this. But, I can't afford to stall any longer. Jack, when we first met, I felt from the start that you were the most irritating, the most annoying man I had ever met. I was sure that you were the last man I could ever fall in love with, but my opinion has been changing during our time together, and now I see things quite a bit differently. You were the first one to see who I really was and accept me for who I was. You didn't try to make me into anything else. I'm not really sure if that makes any sense."

"You know, somehow, it does. I doubt if it would to anyone else, but it seems that you and I understand each other."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say, Jack. I thought that we were complete opposites, but I think that we are more alike than either of us would care to admit." She paused and said, at last, "I don't know how else to say this other than by just saying it, I-I love you, Jack."

The pirate captain stared at Marie, trying to recover some form of coherent speech; it was not all from shock either. He was happy. She couldn't have said anything that would have been more welcome to him. He had been given the chance he had been hoping for, and now that he knew for sure that she felt the same way, he was more than willing to take it.

Marie must have taken his silence as a more negative sign than what it really was, and, already embarrassed by what she had confessed, said quickly, "I might have known what you would think of this. I can't say that I blame you. I just thought you might like to know. I'll leave now."

"Oh, no, you're not." Said Jack, reaching through the bars and grabbing her arm, effectively stopping her before she could make her getaway. "I'm not lettin' you think you can get away so easily."

"Well, there's nothing more to say, is there?" said Marie, defensively. "It's not as though I have another confession to make and I'm not going to stand here and let you ridicule me."

Jack let go of her and said, very seriously, "I thought that you said we wouldn't argue? If that's really what you want than I suggest that you be quiet and listen to me, now." The tone of his voice made Marie stop and pay attention, despite her former desire to leave quickly. Once Jack was sure he had her attention, he began to speak once more. "Don't assume that you're the only one who could have been changed during these past few weeks. Perhaps it might strike you as surprising for you too know that I've been changed by you."

"By me?"

"Yes, I knew you would be surprised. But you have, Marie. You've shown me just how much one life can matter, put me through ever possible emotion I can name, and I've enjoyed every moment of it. The time I've spent with you has been the most thrilling adventure of my entire life. The only thing that frightens me about death tomorrow is that it will have to end so soon. Marie, I love you. For the first time in my life I know what that means, and I'm not afraid to say it.

Marie could hardly believe what she was hearing. She felt that her heart was bursting with joy. And yet, she also felt a sense of regret that made the moment bittersweet.

"I'm sorry." She said, at last.

"Sorry? What for?" said Jack, to this unexpected answer to his own confession.

"I've wasted what time we had together." said Marie, feeling like she was beginning to cry. "I've let my arrogance and pride get in the way, and now…"

"None of that." Said Jack, as he took one of her hands through the bars. "The last thing I want is a woman as beautiful as yourself cryin' over me. Let all the other woman of the world cry."

Marie actually smiled through her tears, "I'm sure that's how you would love to be remembered."

Jack chuckled, "The thought is rather nice. Besides, they have good reason to cry. You have something that they will never have: my heart." Jack Sparrow, in his long career as a pirate, had lied unashamedly about many things. But, this time, he was telling the absolute truth, and Marie knew it."

"I'll never forget you, Jack. That much I can promise you."

"That's good to know, I would hate to think you could forget me." he leaned his forehead against the bars and she responded with the same action on her side. Had they not been separated by a few inches of metal, they might have kissed. But never had the old adage of so close, so far, been so painfully true. "Think of me from time to time, whenever you look out to the horizon. Who knows, though, maybe it's not over for you and I."

Marie laughed, though her tears were running down her face by this time. "I doubt that anything less than a miracle will be able to save you now."

"And whoever said that miracles were impossible?" said Jack, with that trademark grin of his.

Marie was about to respond, when she heard the footsteps of the guard approaching them. He time was up. "They always interrupt at the worst of time." She muttered.

"You can thank their precise training for that." Said Jack.

"I still feel that we've left so much unsaid."

"Maybe we have, but than again, maybe we've said all that we need to say, for now."

"Yes, for now. Good-bye Jack."

"Good-bye." Said Jack, as Marie tore herself away from the bars and followed the guard back up the stairs. Jack watched her go until she was lost to sight, and then resumed his previous activity of trying to get some sleep. If he was going to be the center of attention tomorrow at his own execution, he at least wanted to be awake to enjoy it.

And he also couldn't help but think that whatever Marie may have thought, he was actually feeling a little better about his chances tomorrow. After all, he had been granted one last chance to see Marie. Maybe fate was starting to look kinder on him. Perhaps a full reprieve might have seemed a lot for a man in Jack's place to hope for, but than again, what else did a man in his place have to hope for? It seemed to him like he had a right to hope for a lot.

* * *

Well, there is the chapter. As always, read and review.

Next Chapter: A final quiet moment between brother and sister, the night before their lives will change forever.


	33. Chapter 33: You Are My Home

Chapter 34: You Are My Home

The streets of Port Royal were deserted, only the wind which blew through the streets and the odd skittering of some animal in the shadows were the only things that Marie heard. Not that she even really cared that much at all anymore. The tempest of emotions that was inside her was more than enough to keep her mind occupied. As she wound through the streets toward the blacksmith's shop, she seemed to see everything through very different eyes. The boring monotony of Port Royal that had been her life for as long as she could remember was now grating upon her nerves; it was making her itch for a new life. Her time with Jack, as well as her time on the sea, had awakened even deeper parts of her spirit which longed for hair-raising adventure, the salty tang of the sea and above all, the freedom. Marie knew that she had found everything that she had ever wanted Jack. She didn't know how she would ever be able to return to her old life.

She was still lost in thought when she got back to the blacksmiths' shop. "Marie, is that you?" she heard Will asked from the back.

"Yes." She answered, absent-mindedly.

"Where were you?" he asked, as he appeared from the shadows at the back of the forge. "I've been hoping you would be back soon."

"Where I was is a place I doubt you would fully understand."

"Was Jack expecting you?"

"Of course, he wasn't…" said Marie, who didn't even notice Will's trick question until she had answered herself into incrimination. She stopped, but it was too late, Will had already guessed correctly where she was. "How did you know?" It was rather useless to try and deny it; it world only waste both their times.

"I'll tell you soon. But, first, I need you to tell me everything about Fort Charles."

"Why?" asked Marie, rather puzzled by Will's question.

"Because, there might be a chance to save Jack." Said Will, in a soft voice.

"What?" said Marie, "How could we possibly save Jack? And if we could even get out of For Charles, what would we do next that could save him and somehow avoid getting hanged ourselves?"

"Because, we won't be working alone."

Marie was about to ask Will what he was talking about, when she heard a movement behind Will and a person stepped out from hiding. Marie's mouth dropped open when she recognized him. "Gibbs?"

"Aye, lass." Said Gibbs, as he approached them, "For better or for worse."

"What are you doing here?"

"Let's just say, Marie, that the _Pearl_ just ain't the same without Jack as her Cap'n, and well, a crew owes it's loyalty to their Cap'n."

Marie, for the time in a long while, smiled. "Yes, Gibbs, you're right."

"So, anything you could tell us." Prompted Will.

For the next half hour, the three planned out, as best they could, a haphazard plan that had every chance of not succeeding. It was not only risky, it was also daft. But than, so was the man they were rescuing, so perhaps, it _did_ have a chance of succeeding, after all.

Once Gibbs had gone, an awkward silence descended upon the room. Neither Will nor Marie seemed to be able to speak what they both knew needed to be said. They both were aware of the great changes that had been wrought in them, and yet what the exact nature of those changes were in the other, they couldn't say for sure.

Finally, Marie couldn't stand it any longer. "Will, there is something that I need to tell you."

Will glanced at her, his dark eyes more solemn than usual. "I think I already know what that is, Marie."

"And what is that?"

"It's about Jack, isn't it and the feelings you have for him?"

Marie was surprised that Will should be aware of what she had taken such great efforts to hide. "How did you-"

"In the caves," Will responded, "when you thought that Barbossa had killed him. I saw your face, and your heart broke when you thought you had lost him. That was how I knew you loved him."

Marie looked down. She saw no point in denying what Will had said; she was going to have told him the exact same thing anyway. However, she wasn't going to back down either. "Yes, Will, I do love him. I don't regret it; I'm not ashamed of it. I never thought that I would find someone like him, someone who is so perfect for me. But despite the fact he is a pirate and he will be hanged tomorrow, I am not going to let you criticize me. You may have your objections, but my heart must choose for itself. You may be my older brother by twenty minutes, but even you must admit the fact that you won't be able to look after me forever. You can't decide to live my life for me." she took a deep breath, calming herself before saying, "I've said all I need to say. You may insult me with your objections now."

"I don't have anything to say in objection," said Will, softly, "because I have nothing to object too."

Marie turned her head to look at Will, slightly surprised by what she was hearing. "Marie, listen to me. I admit that there are still many things about Jack that I find to be," he paused, searching for the right word. "questionable. But I have also seen how the two of interact, how you play off each other so well, even in opposition. And since I've only ever seen you I opposition, I can only guess how well you can be in tandem. But, you obviously share something that no other man would be able to give you. I can't object to him when I know that you have found the one who will make you truly happy."

"Will…" said Marie, trying to find some way to express the gratitude she felt at his words.

"There's more." Said Will. This next part would be difficult for him to say, but he had to say it; he knew, it was time. "I love you so much. From the day we were born we've been together, with hardly an interval of time when we were apart. A part of me would like to think we will always be as we once were, but I know that is unrealistic. If this experience has taught me, it's that sometimes the greatest part of love is letting go." He stopped, and gathered his courage to say one the hardest things he had ever said. "Marie, if we succeed in freeing Jack tomorrow, if you decide to go with him, I won't stand in your way."

Marie stared at Will, unsure for a moment if she had heard him right, than a smile blossomed across her face and she leaped into Will's arms and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Will, Will, thank you, thank you."

Will returned the embrace, although it was a bittersweet moment, as the consequences which such an action as Marie leaving Will would entail at last dawned on her. She faced Will, she saw how hard it was for him to make this sacrifice and yet, how willing he was to make it, and she loved him all the more for it. "But, Will, what about you?"

"I'll manage." Said Will, smiling sadly. "Besides, it only would have been postponing the inevitable. This life isn't the one for you, Marie. You desire and deserve so much more. But, I'm not going to be living here alone."

"What do you mean?" asked Marie.

"I'm going to tell Elizabeth." Declared Will.

"You are? When?"

"Tomorrow, if the "opportune moment" presents itself, I'm not going to pass it up this time."

"But, Will, we won't exactly have what you would call a lot of free time and how do you know it won't end with us getting hanged along with Jack?"

"I don't." said Will, honestly, "But either way, I'm going to tell her tomorrow, for better or for worse."

"And I'm sure it will be for the better. It seems like tomorrow will be rather a big day for both of us."

"Yes, in which case we had better get some rest."

"Will," said Marie, "Whatever happens tomorrow, I just want you to know that you have always meant the world to me."

Will smiled, as he once more pulled his sister into a hug. It was an embrace that brought a sense of security in a world that was beginning to change. A chapter was closing on their lives, and the time was soon coming when they would no longer see each other. For however long they had, they wanted to make ever moment last.

"Oh, Marie," said Will, tenderly, "through everything that has ever happened to us, we have always had each other. Now, whether this be the beginning of the new adventure or the ending altogether, never doubt that you are my home."

In that blacksmiths' shop, in that night, the world seemed very distant for this pair of twins. What would come with the dawning of a new day, they didn't know. But they had each other. For now, that was all they needed.

* * *

I hope everyone liked this chapter. As always, read and review.

Next chapter: The final episode, the grand finale and the start of a new adventure for all of our favorite characters.


	34. Chapter 34: The Hanging

Here it is, the grand finale of a great story. I would take this moment to say something sentimental. However, I know how impatient everyone is to see this, and besides, the muse isn't smiling upon me for something like that, so just dive in and enjoy.

Chapter 35: The Hanging

It seemed as though Jack Sparrow's luck had finally run out. He was on the gallows, hands bound, the noose waiting for him. But of course, this being a _proper_ English hanging, they had to go through a dozen hoops of formality first.

The snare drums began beating their monotonous refrain, the prelude to any such hanging. A man standing a few feet from Jack on the gallows opened a scroll and began to speak in a droning voice, "Jack Sparrow,"

Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack muttered. Could not the Royal Navy at least afford his proper title once?"

"Be it known that you have been tried and found guilty for your willful commission of crimes against the crown, said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to cited herewith…"

Commodore James Norrington, standing with Governor Swan, Elizabeth and Emma, couldn't stop himself from flinching inwardly. Said crimes may have been numerous in quantity, but they hadn't been sinister. Guilt was gnawing at him. Why couldn't he have done more? He did have the power, he could have pardoned Jack. Failing that, he could have at least exerted his influence and made Jack Sparrow have his execution in private, rather than as a public spectacle of scorn and sick amusement for the crowd, which was larger than normal, seeing as it was a legend being executed, and not just a regular, old pirate.

He knew that it would be a long death for Sparrow, not to mention painful. A beheading would have been much more merciful. Why couldn't he have even made the effort to call him Captain Sparrow? He had come to accept that he deserved the title, after all, how else could he have avoided capture and remained alive for so many years? He had not even done that much.

Elizabeth, who was watching the proceedings with a mixture of sick horror and desperation, said quietly, "This is wrong."

Governor Swann glanced quickly at Elizabeth. "Commodore Norrington is bound by the law." He said, trying to make everything all right by that one statement, "As are we all."

James glanced down, unable to watch any further. The Governor was right; he was bound by the law. Only right now, it felt like a leaden chain that he couldn't escape from, not a duty that he was honored to carry out.

It was a rather dreary picture, but it wasn't fated to last. In the crowd of people that were milling in front of the gallows, Will and Marie were watching and waiting. They had both separated, on opposite sides of the crowd. That was part of the plan that they had decided upon with Gibbs the night before. Marie was watching Jack closely, as the man who reading the charges against him continued reading off the seemingly endless list of Jack's crimes.

"Impersonating an officer of the of the Spanish Royal Navy, impersonating an officer of the English Royal Navy," the next charge caused the main to raise his eyebrows, and cause him to read haltingly, as if he couldn't believe what he was reading, "impersonating a cleric of the church of England…"

"Oh yeah." Murmured Jack, grinning at whatever hidden reflections that memory brought up. However, one look at the dour-faced executioner, who seemed to have no sense of humor whatsoever, and that crafty look vanished. Marie found herself smirking; just what the story was behind that particular charge she would love to find out, if she ever got the chance.

"Arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching…" Marie had to notice that Jack seemed more proud of his crimes than he was ashamed. If shame was the entire point of this little escapade, than it was failing miserably.

Marie, however, was tiring of waiting. What was taking so long? She searched the crowd for Will, spotting his red cape and impressive hat instantly. She hoped that he would be ready; one wrong step and Jack would be having company up there.

And then, she saw it: a flash of blue and gold feathers. Looking up, she saw Cotton's parrot perched on one of the standards that were in the courtyard. That was it, the signal they had bee waiting for. She glanced at Will, who nodded. She nodded back, everything was ready.

"Briggandage, depuration, and general lawlessness…"

Marie was all set to begin this foolhardy enterprise, but inexplicably, Will began making his way to the back of the crowd. Marie couldn't think of a single reason why he needed to do such a thing, until she saw just where it was he was heading.

Will stopped in front of the Governor and the rest. If they were at all surprised to see him, they didn't show it. "Governor Swann, Commodore, Miss Swann," he said, greeting each of them respectfully in turn before he turned at last to Elizabeth, his beautiful, courageous Elizabeth. "Elizabeth," he said, passionately, finally allowing himself the use of the name that he had only ever used in the privacy of his heart and his dreams. The tone of his voice made Elizabeth tear her eyes away from the hanging and stare at Will, her heart pounding wildly with unspoken expectation. "I should have told you every day from the moment I met you: I love you." And with that simple but heartfelt declaration, he turned and began pushing his way back through the crowd, leaving behind him a stunned Elizabeth and the Governor coughing in obvious embarrassment, while Emma and James merely stared after Will in slight shock at what he had just said.

"And for these crimes, you have been sentenced, on this day, to hang by the neck, until dead. May God have mercy on your soul."

Will caught sight of Marie, who grinning at him hugely. "Finally." She mouthed. Will grinned back at her and the twins moved into action.

The snare drums moved into a final drum roll, signaling that the end was near. Jack felt the rope noose settling around his neck. He stared at the black-hooded executioner in defiance as the man walked over to the lever that would end his life. "I'll be meetin' you at the pearly gates of heaven," he thought, in a parting shot, "and we'll just see which one of us ends up in hell first."

And at this point, several important things happened within a few seconds of each other. Elizabeth suddenly caught sight of the Cotton's parrot as it left its perch on the standard and flapped off into the sky. Suddenly, everything fell into place and she knew that she had to do something.

Jack caught sight of Marie zigzagging though the crowd, fast and silent as a cat, coming ever closer to the gallows. Jack's eyes widened slightly in shock. She wasn't mad enough to try a rescue attempt, was she? He may have wanted to live, but not that badly.

Will could see that time was running short. He began pushing people aside violently, ignoring the cries of annoyance from those around him. He drew one of the swords that were strapped to his waist, judging in an instant the exact throw that would save Jack's life.

James realized too late that something was happening. "Marines." He said, softly, advancing a few steps.

Elizabeth panicked when she heard this. Desperate for some way to distract her father and the Commodore for just a few seconds, she went with the first this popped into her head. "I can't breath." She gaped, and fell back, as if in a faint.

Emma, too, had seen the parrot; she knew that something was going on. So, when Elizabeth fainted, or appeared to have fainted, Emma went along with the act. "Elizabeth," she shrieked, rather melodramatically, but it caught the attention of her father and James, making them forget, for a moment, everything that was happening below them.

And that one one moment was all that was needed. The crowd parted before Will like the red sea as he roared, "Move!"

The executioner pulled on the lever and just as the ground gave way beneath Jack, Will threw the sword. Its point buried into the wood of the trap door, at just the right height, so if Jack didn't lose his balance, there was a chance that he wouldn't die.

At the moment when Will charged up the steps to face the executioner, Elizabeth bolted up. Her father and James, who had been hovering around her anxiously, started back with surprised expressions on their faces. However, it took them only a few seconds to understand that Elizabeth had been bluffing. Governor Swann closed his eyes in apparent despair, while the Commodore, finally noticing what was happening in the plaza below him, began to call for the Marines to stop the would-be escape from taking place.

Will and the executioner were locked in a struggle of sword and axe, a struggle that just happened to have Jack in the middle. Trying to keep one's balance on a thin sword blade, with a noose around one's neck, when one's hands are tied and while a fierce fight is waging around one is not as easy as might at first be thought. Jack was finding it near impossible to accomplish; he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the act up for very much longer.

Below him, Marie had her hands full trying to hold off the members of the Royal Navy, who were doing their best to give her trouble and stop her plans from succeeding. She was using both her own weapons and her fists quite effectively, but like Jack, she wasn't going to last very long herself if things didn't improve.

But things soon started looking up. As the executioner swung his axe hard at Will's head, Will ducked. The force of the swing carried on until it severed the rope that was still holding Jack hostage. The noose suddenly tightened around Jack's throat and he got a small preview of what would have happened without Will and Marie's interference.

He dropped to the ground like a stone, where he lay dazed for a few seconds. Marie was busy dealing several sharp punches to an unlucky officer nearby. When she saw Jack fall, she gave the officer one last right hook and kicked him away. Hurrying to Jack, she said, "Nice of you to drop in."

Jack grinned, "I'm not sure if I'm worthy to be rescued by the likes of you."

"Don't flatter yourself, your not."

Above them Will finally managed to get the better of the executioner, by bodily pushing the entire mass of man off the gallows and into the crowd below. This was actually quite convenient as the executionor landed right on top of James Norrington, which caused the Marines who were following him to scatter, creating even more distraction and chaos.

Jack sliced through the ropes that were binding his hands with the sword that was still quivering in the trapdoor. Will somersaulted over the barrier of the gallows. He caught the other end of the rope which Jack threw to him and the two of them, with Marie right behind them, dealing blows with sword and fist, they made a run for the fortress walls.

A few stray Marines tried to stop them, but the first were tripped by the rope and the second pair found themselves wrapped around the fort's pillars and pulled tightly against it. Jack, Will, and Marie fought, bashed and rolled the last few feet to the edge of the wall. But, just when they were so close to their goal, their fortunes once more dipped low. They were only a few feet away from the walls of the fort, when they found themselves surrounded by the threatening bayonets of the Royal Navy.

James came up, sword drawn and grim-faced. "I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt," he said, as he pointed the sword at Will, "but not from you."

Elizabeth, who had been lost in the melee, hurried up at that moment, in time to hear her father say, "On our return to Port Royal, I granted both of you clemency, and this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate."

Will refused to be fazed by the Governor's harsh chastisement. "And a good man." He declared boldly, as his sword clattered to the ground, "If all that my sister and I have achieved here today is that the hangman will earn two more pairs of boots instead of one, than so be it. At least _my _conscience will be clear."

"So will mine." Agreed Marie, "Unlike some, will remember this day with very different feelings."

James bristled, almost unconsciously. Could they have guessed his inmost struggle? "You forget your place, Turner." He said, dangerously as he took a threatening step forward.

Will merely stared back coolly at James, and said, in a quietly challenging voice, "It's right here, with Marie, between you and Jack." James who was mistaken. For the first time in his life, Will knew without a doubt where he truly belonged.

As did Elizabeth. Screwing her courage to the sticking place, she stepped forward into the line of fire alongside Will. Taking his hand, she said, "As is mine."

The sight of his daughter in potential danger made Governor Swann abruptly change his verdict. "Elizabeth? Lower your weapons. For goodness sake, put them down."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, the guns were lifted. James, however, didn't seem to notice. He was staring at Elizabeth, his face showing what could not exactly be called heartbreak, but more startled hope. "So, this is where your heart truly lies then, is it?"

Slowly, Elizabeth nodded. "It is."

A moment of silence followed, as everyone tried to process what had just happened. Jack was contemplating just how he was going to get out of this when he saw the parrot, on a battlement above him. It squawked and flew off into the blue sky, its mission at the fort finished. His heart seemed to beat faster with excitement as he finally understood. The _pearl_, she had been brought back to him.

"Well," he said, trying to conceal his delight, as he came out from behind Will and Elizabeth, "I'm actually feeling rather good about this." He spoke right in the face of the Governor, who had a difficult time hiding his disgust at the smell of Jack's breath. "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, don't you think?" He left Swann and got under the Commodore's nose, who couldn't seem to understand what it was that Jack was doing. "I want you to know I was rooting for you, mate. Know that." He turned and walked a few paces away, stopping to look at Elizabeth, who was staring at Will, obviously enthralled. "Elizabeth," she turned and glanced at him. "It would never have worked out for us, darling. I'm sorry." She seemed uncertain as to whether he was joking or serious. That was fine with him. Let the legend continue.

Jack, all of the necessary things thus said, went up a few of the stairs that led to the side of the wall, before stopping. He couldn't leave without saying something appropriate to Will and Marie, especially Marie.

Turning, he said, "Will," there was a lot he could have said to the young man, but he didn't know how to say them all. Besides, he had never been one for sentimentality, so he merely said, "Nice hat." Then, to Marie, I expect I'll be seein' a lot more of you." Will was smiling, he had completely understood Jack's meaning, and Marie's flickering of a smile was all the confirmation that Jack needed.

As Jack Sparrow mounted the final steps, the crowd followed him anxiously, unsure of what he was going to do next. "Friends," If he had their complete, undivided attention, he might as well make a grand exit, "this is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost-" The effect of a grand exit was, however, ruined, when Jack tumbled unexpectedly over the wall and into the sea below.


	35. Chapter 35:A New Adventure

Chapter 35: A New Adventure

When Jack disappeared over the wall, everyone hurried forward to see what the outcome of his fall would be. To the disappointment of probably all but a few, he missed being smashed on the rocks and instead landed safely with a splash into the sea.

"Idiot.' Scoffed Gillette, "He has nowhere to go but back to the noose." But he was about to be proved wrong.

Jack surfaced with a gasp, before hearing someone shouting above him, "Sail ho!"

Looking behind him, he saw the most beautiful sight he had seen in a long time (along with Marie, of course) the _Black Pearl_, he dark wood gleaming dully in the late morning sun, her sails no longer tattered and tearing, was sailing towards him, ready to reclaim her captain. Joy beamed across Jack's face and he struck out swimming for his freedom.

Above, on the battlements of Fort Charles, watched the _Pearl _coming into view, as well as Jack beginning to swim towards her. A longing rose within her for the life she had tasted and that she wanted for the rest of her days. Will, who hadn't forgotten what he had said the night before, knew that the time had come.

Coming up beside Marie, he put a hand on her shoulder, and when she turned to face him, he pulled her in a final embrace. They both knew and though it meant the end to the way of life they had always known, they were both ready to take the next step.

"I'll miss you." He murmured.

"Not half as much as I'll miss you."

She and Will faced each other and Marie saw that mischievous look in her brother's eyes. "You may not after this." He said, cheekily.

"Will-" said Marie, warningly, but too late. Will, grinning, pushed her over the edge of the wall, to join Jack in the water below.

When Jack heard the splash of Marie behind him, he turned to look at her with a grin. "What are you doin' here?"

"Will pushed me."

"That was clumsy of him. you know, for bein' such a great fighter, Will needs to learn a little grace."

"Actually, I don't think it was an accident."

"Oh, he did it on purpose, did he? That's even worse. You want to go back and have some words with him?"

Marie glanced above her and then back at Jack, "You know, it hardly seems important right now. It would be a lot of trouble."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm here now. So, perhaps I should come with you?"

"I thought you would never ask, darling." Said Jack, and he and Marie began swimming away from the fort, toward their new life.

On the battlements, James Norrington had not yet given any sort of order, either in pursuit or otherwise of the escaped fugitives. "What's your plan of action?" prompted Gillette, but when no answer was forthcoming, he looked at his commander, confused by his silence. "Sir?"

James was trying to say something, but for the first time in his career, he had no idea what to say. He had no plan of action that would make sense, or that he would be able to live with the consequences of afterward. Here was a chance to allow Sparrow to escape, but he still had to make some sort of move.

Governor Swann seemed to divine the struggle that was taking place in James' mind and said, "Perhaps on the rare occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy; piracy itself can be the right course?"

When James heard this, he felt a great weight lift off his shoulder. Smiling slightly, he gave a nod. He understood what it was he had to do. Then, assuming his commanding voice, he said, "Mr. Turner."

Will felt his heart sink, but he was going to face whatever punishment might be meted out to him. He was not afraid, though the thought of leaving Elizabeth so soon was painful. As he turned to face the Commodore, Elizabeth grabbed his arm, fear showing on her face. Placing a hand on Elizabeth's own, he said, in achingly tender voice, "I will accept the consequences of my actions."

Leaving Elizabeth, he stepped to face the Commodore. James lifted the sword up to Will's face, studying both him and it carefully. "This is a beautiful sword. I would expect the man who made it to show the same level of care and devotion in ever aspect of his life.' He shifted his gaze ever so slightly in Elizabeth's direction, and then once more to Will. "My compliments."

A moment of understanding passed between the two men, in which, despite all the differences of rank, they began to think that they were perhaps not all that different from each other. And Will, having finally received the credit that was due to him, said gracefully, "Thank you."

James lowered the sword and began to walk away from Will and Elizabeth, before he turned back to them and said, "Oh, and Miss Swann, the very best of luck to you both." Elizabeth smiled gratefully at him. That was the reward and all the confirmation that he needed.

"Commodore," said Gillette, "What about Sparrow? Shall we prepare the _Dauntless_ in pursuit?"

James allowed himself a moment of silence, as if giving the matter deep thought before responding off-handedly, "Oh, I think we can afford to give him one day's head start." He smiled ironically, before turning and walking back to the fort.

He didn't go too far before he saw Emma standing in the background. He altered his course slightly, almost as if he were passing her casually, when he truthfully wanted to speak to her. What exactly he would say, he didn't know, but he would come up with something.

It was quite clear that she had heard everything. As he passed her, she said, "Thank you, James."

He stopped and glanced back at Elizabeth. "Strange, I didn't think it would be so easy to let her go."

"So, you are not going to brood over this?"

"No." said James, "Elizabeth is a fine woman, but she doesn't love me, and as I begin to think about it, I don't know that I ever did, either." Emma hardly knew how to react to this statement. She could only look at James, emotions that she couldn't quite hide beginning to make their way to the surface. "Besides, there are many chances to find one's soul mate in this world."

"And have you any idea where yours might be?" asked Emma, near breathless with hopeful anticipation.

James surreptitiously took her hand in his own, an act of intimacy that he had never bestowed even on Elizabeth. "I believe that I have. But I am still unsure in some ways. If she could be willing to wait, then in a very short time, I may be able to tell her more definitely."

Emma's face blossomed into one of the most beautiful smiles that James had ever seen. "Yes, James, I do believe that she could."

There was no more to say to each other for that moment. For now, they had said all that they needed to say. Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, James then followed his men back into the fort. She watched him go, near overjoyed. She had lived so long without hope, but now she felt more alive than she had in a long time. She somehow felt that this was only the beginning.

Emma turned her attention back to the battlements. Will and Elizabeth were gazing at each other in adoration, completely unmindful of anything else around them. There were no more secrets between them, they saw all that they needed in each other's eyes to confirm their feelings. Governor Swann, who had lingered behind for a few seconds, turned to his daughter and said, with resignation, though no small amount of amusement, "So, this is the path you've chosen is it? After all, he is a blacksmith."

"No.' replied Elizabeth, removing Will's hat and gazing at him with shinning eyes, "He's a pirate."

The Governor moved off, opting to give them some privacy. Will grabbed Elizabeth by the neck and pulled her into a deep and passionate kiss. After all they had been through, all they had felt for each other could not now be hidden. There was nothing that would ever separate them again. For Elizabeth and Will, as with Emma and James, a new chapter of life, a new adventure had begun.

In the warm water of the Caribbean, Marie turned for one last glimpse of her old home. What she saw caused her to smile and whoop joyfully. Jack turned to see what had caused her to react with such vigor.

* * *

"I've been waiting for him to do that for a long time." She said.

"It's about time, too, I'd say. They really go great together those two. You know, I wonder how he would react if I happened to do the same thing to you."

Marie grinned, "If he knew you were even thinking it, he would probably kill you."

"Well, too bad for him, because I plan to have you all to myself for awhile." He lowered his voice, his words laced with double meaning. "In fact, I plan on going a few steps farther."

"I won't tell if you won't." said Marie.

Aboard the _Black Pearl_, Gibbs was surprised when he saw who was right beside Jack. "Jack's go company." He shouted to the crew, "Throw out another line."

Marie and Jack grabbed hold of the lines, and with a mighty heave from the crew, they were both hauled aboard. Marie climbed over the railing just in time to see Jack soar over the heads of the crew and land right beside her on the stern. "Always have to make an impressive entrance, don't you?"

"Of course, luv. Don't forget; I'm Captain Jack Sparrow." Gibbs, Cotton and a few others on the crew came up just then. Jack pretended to glare at them and said, in mock severity, "Thought you were supposed to keep to the code?"

Gibbs was smiling. "We figgered they were more actually guidelines." He offered Jack a hand, which the captain accepted.

Gibbs then looked at Marie and said, "Are you sailin' with us?"

"I suppose I am, if you can find a place for me."

"I think we can mange that. It would be a pleasure havin' you as part of the crew."

"What happened to having a woman on board is bad luck?"

"The _Black Pearl_ is no ordinary ship, Marie. And therefore, I think we can afford to bend the rules a bit."

Marie laughed. "We're pirates, Gibbs. Bending the rules is what we do."

At this moment, Cotton came forward and handed Jack his hat. "Thank you." He said with obvious emotion and placed it on his head with a great deal of ceremony.

Ana Maria, who had been leaning on the wheel a few feet away, then said, "Captain Sparrow," coming forward, she draped Jack's coat across his shoulders and said, "the _Black Pearl_ is yours."

At these words, a new look settled over Jack's face. He seemed to stand straighter, his eyes taking on a brighter look. He moved to the helm of the _Black Pearl_, took one of the spokes in the wheel and stroked the dark wood. Beneath him, he felt the deck tremble. "That's right, girl." He thought, "I'm back.' A part of him that had been wandering for ten years seemed to slide back into place at that moment. He was truly a captain once more.

He suddenly became aware of the fact that he was surrounded by his crew, who were awaiting his orders. He realized that he couldn't appear too soft at that moment. "On deck, you scabberous dogs!" he shouted, gruffly to the assembled crew, who leaped to do his orders. "Haul loose and get ready to run free."

Soon, he and Marie were on their own. Jack felt perfectly content; it was just like the old days. But as he shifted his eyes to take in the profile of the beautiful woman he loved, he realized, that no, it was better.

As she stood looking out to the ocean, the salt air blowing her hair around her face, he saw that her eyes were a color unlike any he had yet seen. The sparkling blue of the sea was reflected there; Jack did not need to be told that it was the color of joy.

She turned from looking at the sea and her smile widened as she approached him. She came up beside him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "I love you, Jack."

"And you know what? I love you."

As he looked out to where the ocean disappeared into the sky, he could only dream of the adventures that were to come with Marie at his side. That was why he was a pirate, and why she was going to make such a fine one.

"Now, bring me that horizon." He began humming the tune that Elizabeth had taught him. "Ya-da-da-da-da an' da-da-da." He looked at the spinning point of the compass, setting his and Marie's next course. "And really bad eggs." He grinned as he began turning the wheel. Yes, this was going to be the adventure of a lifetime. "Drink up, me hearties, yo ho."

* * *

I hope that everyone enjoyed this ending. As always, read and review.

But wait, hands up for everyone who thinks this is all that there is? Well, for anyone who thought that you are... wrong. Check in the next few days for a little extra surprise, that will also set the stage for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which I can now confirm as a go. Look for that to be coming up here in the next few weeks.


	36. Epilogue: Ever, Ever After

Well, here it is, the very last chapter of this epic saga. This is really the hopeless romantic in me raging out of control. Hey, I am a hopeless romantic and I am proud of it!!! Still, every romantic needs some help. This chapter was inspired by three different sources. The brilliant playwright William Shakespeare's plat Romeo and Juliet, the brilliant novel Emma by Jane Austen and Ever, Ever After, a song from the Enchanted soundtrack. I sure hope that everyone enjoys this last chapter.

Chapter 36: Ever, Ever After (Epilogue)

Every so often, dreams come true. Of course, dreams are coming true every day, however, most of the time they come true in ways that might not at first have been foreseen. And those unexpected changes can sometimes make the original dreams all the sweeter. But every so often, dreams that seemed utterly impossible can come true in exactly the way they were first envisioned.

Emma Swann had often thought her own dreams were far too impossible to ever come true, and yet, over the past few weeks, she had begun to think that maybe God had been hearing her prayers.

It had been little less than a month since the _Dauntless_had returned, beaten and disgraced, to Port Royal. In that time, many things had happened. The most important was that Commodore Norrington had stripped Lieutenant Henry Gillette of his rank and the now former Lieutenant had left Port Royal, though his destination was unknown. The Commodore himself had hardly been seen. He refused to see anybody and deflected any questions that might have been raised.

Rumors were beginning to circulate around Port Royal of what exactly had happened on this ill-fated trip. Some placed the blame on the Commodore and said that he had punished Gillette to save face for himself. Others said just the opposite, though they came up with even more outrageous stories as to what had happened. All claimed that they alone held the true story, but in truth, it was only ever hearsay and gossip. Such is man's habit to hearken after failure, that it would believe anything.

Only a few knew the truth of what had happened. Emma herself was among them, even though she had only heard through her father. Against James Norrington's direct orders, Gillette had ordered the _Dauntless_ into a hurricane while they had been pursuing the _Black Pearl_. By the time that James had been alerted to the impending disaster, it had been too late to turn back. As a direct result of this, the _Dauntless_ had been damaged beyond repair and nearly half of the crew had been killed. James was in no way to blame for what had happened. And yet, he was acting in a way that made Emma think he was torturing himself too much. Little could she have guessed that something very different was occupying his thoughts, something that had to do with her.

One August morning, two weeks after the _Dauntless_had returned, she found herself reading the garden. She had been expecting no visitors and hencely, no interruptions. However, she was surprised when she saw James coming toward her through the gardens. She had to restrain herself from allowing her hands to tremble, but not even she could stop her heart from hammering. Ever since he had released Elizabeth from their engagement, she had allowed herself to hope as she had never hoped before that she might have a chance. Before he had left on his voyage, he had said that things which were then unspoken and unresolved between them would be discussed when he returned. But she had understood that somethings had had to take precedence on his return.

Getting up, she went to meet him. "Good afternoon, Emma." He said, and was it her imagination that he was addressing her ever so differently than he once had? "I hope that I am not interrupting your solitary reverie?"

"No, you are not. Any visit from you is hardly an interruption. I was just catching up on some reading. The past few months have not really been conducive to such an activity."

"I can imagine not. What were you reading just now?" he asked, as they began promenading around the many paths that criss-crossed the garden.

"Shakespeare, actually. Romeo and Juliet. I can't imagine how many times I have read it, but every time I do, there is always something new which I notice which I have never thought of before."

James softly smiled, as he began to recite, "'Can I go forward when my heart is here? Turn back dull earth, and find thy center out.'"

Emma, despite her conflicting feelings in such a moment as this, couldn't help but smile, "'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love and I'll no longer be a Capulet.'"

"'I am no pilot; yet wert thou as far as that vast shore washed by the farthest sea, I would adventure for such merchandise.'"

Emma could have continued, but she found herself blushing. She couldn't help but see an allusion to herself in those words. And something in the way he said and the way he looked made her wonder if it was really just an idle recital of Shakespeare's famous words of love. "You are familiar with the play I see?"

"Yes. His mastery of the human language in the matter of love is unsurpassed."

"It is also his only tragedy where the flaw is not in his main characters, but rather in the situation that surrounds them." Said Emma.

"Unless one could say that their own love brought about their overthrow. Perhaps they did not know when to stop."

"But, we still cannot condemn them, can we?"

James looked at her intensely for a moment and then murmured, "It is hard to condemn any who love so deeply."

Emma did not reply. She did not know is she could trust her voice when James looked at her in that manner. She finally managed to say, "I'm glad to see you James. Ever since the _Dauntless_ returned, I have been worried about you."

"Nothing can change what happened." Said James, "Though perhaps, in hindsight, it might have been a blessing in disguise in some ways."

"What do you mean?"

He grew strangely silent. They had stopped in front of the fountain that stood at the center of the garden. Bees droned lazily from flower to flower. The roses were particularly lovely at this time of year, deep reds and sunny yellows, their scent stirring the still summer air, which was now very still indeed. Emma waited for him to speak, unsure if what she had said had been received.

When James spoke, it was hesitant, as if considering each word very carefully before he spoke it. "Emma, when the hurricane was at its height, I thought for sure that I was going to die. I have never been afraid of death. It is something that I have had to accept when I accepted this service. But, I tell you, Emma, that in the hurricane, I was afraid. I was begging God every second that he would give me one last chance at life, one last chance to-to say what I had to long left unsaid."

He glanced at her, as if expecting her to complete the thought. But Emma had turned away from him; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't look him in the eye, lest he should see just how strongly his words were affecting him.

"You do not wish, than, to know what that is?" observed James, honestly surprised, "I would have thought that your curiosity would be peaked enough to ask. No, Emma, sometimes there is a place to ask questions, and this time, I must answer the question you are afraid to ask, though I might very well wish it unspoken the next moment."

"Than do not speak it, for heaven's sake, please." Cried Emma, turning at last to face him, "James, if there is any doubt in your mind as to what you want to say, than don't say it. Take time to consider before committing yourself to any action you might regret later on." She saw James step back, as if he had been physically stung by her words. She hadn't meant to pain him, and after a moment of silence, she said, "I-I stopped you too quickly. Please, say what you have to say and I will hear you as a friend."

"As a friend?" James repeated, "Emma, can you not see that is not my-" he stopped himself, and closed his eyes, as if he were trying to hold in some great emotion. "No, I have gone too far for concealment. Very well, Emma. I know that you will not only hear me honestly, but answer me honestly. That is always how we have talked you and I." he gathered his courage and prepared to put his future completely in the hands of the woman before him. "My dearest Emma, for dearest you shall always be, tell me and tell me truly, do I not have any chance? Can you forgive a man who was so blind that he couldn't see what was in front of him for so long? Now, that he has realized the truth, though, he will never let it out his sight for as long as he lives."

Emma's heart had seemed to stop beating, and yet, it was hammering so loud, she could hear it in her ears. Was she just dreaming? Would she wake in a moment and find that she was still alone? Of had this little garden suddenly been turned into a corner of paradise and she herself had at last been found?

James continued, "When I was onboard the _Dauntless,_ Emma, I realized that if I never saw you again, than that would be the worst part of dying. I thought that if I just had the opportunity to see you once more, then I would be able to ask you what I should have asked you a long time ago. It was only in the face of death that I realized the truth and that was why I was afraid." It seemed as though he wanted to continue, but after a few seconds of trying to find words that would express the depths of his feelings, he knew that he did have the genius of Shakespeare. He could only speak to her plainly, as he had always done before. "I can't make speeches, Emma. If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more, but you know how I am. You know that I have never spoken anything but truth to you. Yes, you understand me, and you will answer me in the way that you know is best for you and for your future happiness."

Emma was not normally one to allow her emotions to overtake her, but when she heard these words, the emotions that she had striven to keep hidden for so long could no longer be contained. Tears of grateful joy began flowing down her face and she made no attempt to stop or hide them. She could barely think, so any effort to form words into any kind of response proved to be rather difficult. In fact, the simple act of standing proved to be hard enough for her to accomplish. She found herself sitting on the side of the fountain without any knowledge of how she had gotten there, and James was kneeling before her, looking up into her face, his eyes filled with concern, passion and… love. Yes, she could see it quite clearly, he loved her. This wasn't a dream, this was happening, this was real.

"Well, Emma," he said, awkwardly, at last, "Do you have anything to say?"

Emma began to laugh through her tears, the laughter of relief and pure joy. "James, do you have idea how I have dreamed for this moment, how often I have wished for it? Now that it is here, I have nothing to say beyond that I love you. I have loved you for many years, and I will not stop loving you. If this is a dream, then I will never want to wake up."

James Norrington, for the first time in a long while, smiled. "Emma, on this day, at this moment, I kneel before you as a man completely, devotedly in love. And I would feel richer than a king, if you, Emma Swann, would be my wife."

What more needs to be said? She answered as any woman in her position, who had suffered and experienced so much, would answer. After all, sometimes, dreams can be real. Sometimes, our own ever, ever after is only one wish away.

* * *

Well, how was that for hopeless romanticism? I just couldn't resist adding this chapter, though it does sort of set the stage for what I am planning to do with DMC. I should warn everyone that the next two movie will be AU in places, though the basic storyline will be the same. I don't want to give too much away, but I think you might have gotten a clue in this chapter. James is going to be playing a much bigger role in the story than he does in the original movie and (I know this will make a lot of people extremely happy), James is not going to die. However, how he manages to keep from dying and how everything else will play out with Jack and Marie, Will and Elizabeth and James and Emma, I will not say. I can only promise that there will be a lot of romance, action, sword-fighting, betrayal, forgiveness, reckless acts of reckless bravery, a little bit of tragedy and a lot of humor to go around. But than, it wouldn't be a Pirates fic if it didn't have at least some of those things.

So for now, we close this part of the adventure and look for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest to be up soon.

And finally, thanks to all who have read, reviewed, or favorited this story. You know who you are. You have made my first foray into the dangerous waters of fanfictiondom a great and rewarding success. May the wind always be at your back and may the seas always be fair for you (I know, cheesy and corny. I just couldn't resist letting the pirate in me have some say).

And always, read and review.


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